Should Cities Share A Deputy?

PRESCOTT - Could Prescott and Waitsburg share a full-time deputy to keep the communities more safe?

Both the city of Prescott and the city of Waitsburg are working on new contracts for service with the Walla Walla County Sheriff's Of- fice. Prescott Councilman Doug Venn said he would like to explore a coopera- tive venture with Waitsburg to establish the presence of a deputy in their area of the county.

The Prescott City Council discussed the Prescott's con- tract with the sheriff's office at its last council meeting. Members of the council had previously complained about the lack of cover- age from the office and were thinking of ways to increase deputy coverage of the small town. Former Mayor Libby McCaw said at that meeting she was having a difficult time get- ting a representative from the sheriff's office to attend a council meeting so they could share some informa- tion and she was still hoping for a meeting.

Even if the sheriff's of- fice representatives haven't made it to a council meeting lately, the sheriff says he's willing to talk.

"We entertain all good ideas to serve people better," said John Turner, the Walla Walla County sheriff.

Turner said he would be happy to visit with represen- tatives from both Prescott and Waitsburg to see if there was a way to have a dedi- cated deputy in the area. However, he does not yet know how much the deputy would cost the cities.

"It's way too premature to comment on that," he said.

Turner said there are cur- rently four patrol squads that cover the county day and night in 12-hour shifts.

He added that current per- sonnel are always assigned to Waitsburg and Prescott, but the residents may be see- ing the deputies less because they patrol day and night now and can get called else- where to respond to crimes and emergencies.

"We are indeed providing coverage," Turner said.

Waitsburg City Adminis- trator Randy Hinchliffe said his city would be happy to discuss the coverage options with Prescott, but he doesn't know if the idea of sharing a full-time deputy would work.

He said his biggest concerns would be how the cit- ies would share the costs of the deputy and also whether there are enough service calls in both small cities to keep the deputy busy.

"We don't even pay for a full-time deputy here," Hinchliffe said.

The most coverage Waits- burg has had recently was in 2005-06 when Waitsburg had 80 hours of sheriff's office coverage each week. Hinchliffe said the 80 hours was reduced because of the cost and because there wasn't enough for the depu- ties to do in town.

Hinchliffe added that if the deputy worked a 24- hour shift in Waitsburg and Prescott, the sheriff's office would have to provide two or three deputies to meet the contract, which would be even more expensive.

Waitsburg Mayor Walt Gobel said sharing a deputy "is something worth talking about."

Gobel said he doesn't share the worries about not having enough for deputies to do. But, both cities would have to look at the costs of having a deputy on full-time.

"I would feel more com- fortable if I had that law en- forcement coverage," Gobel said. "But maybe we can't even afford it."