WS - C - Law Enforcement Assessment - Final Report

How Does Tiffin compare to other cities of comparable populations continued? The table below shows anticipated 8.10 monies for Tiffin in FY 26 & FY 30. This chart also shows projected costs for law enforcement under both scenarios. FY Tiffin 8.10 Monies Johnson Co. % of 8.10 Tiffin PD % of 8.10 FY 22 $ 1,696,498.00 $ 183,300.00 10.80% FY 26 $ 2,400,000.00 $ 1,011,756.00 42.16% $ 1,168,267.00 48.68% FY 30 $ 3,600,000.00 $ 2,037,318.00 56.59% $ 1,934,873.00 53.75% ** FY 26 / FY 30 are simply projections in all categories This table provides many insights into the future costs of law enforcement for Tiffin. These insights include but are not limited to: 1. Tiffin will need to transition towards budgeting a great portion of 8.10 monies towards law enforcement related expenses. The future shows a sharp contrast from the current 10.80% as compared with 40-50% in future years. 2. The projected expenses for future law enforcement services are consistent with our communities we will soon use as comparable cities. As previously mentioned, while most cities with a population of 4,000 residents have their own police department, some exceptions to the rule exist such as the cities of Grimes and Bondurant. Both cities are located within Polk County and continue to contract services with the Polk County Sheriff’s Office. As the table above shows, both Bondurant and Grimes spend less 8.10 monies on law enforcement (by percentage) than other cities of similar size. Based upon interviews with both City Administrators, neither has any plans of changing in the foreseeable future. Grimes City Administrator Jake Anderson shared how contracting law enforcement services through Polk County relieved numerous secondary needs on other City of Grime’s departments. “Contracting these services reduces our usage of all other city departments from human resources, payroll, and administering health insurance plans to name a few.” Anderson went on to talk about how contracting with the Sheriff’s Office also relieves the responsibility for hiring and training employees as well as employee discipline. Grimes is a busy community and the depth of services available to Grimes residents is significant with access to the drug taskforce, detectives and other services of the Sheriff’s Office. Anderson finished by complimenting the Sheriff’s Office on being very community oriented and responsive to requests by the City for events and services within the Grimes community. Bondurant City Administrator Marketa Oliver has a unique perspective having worked in two smaller communities attached to the Des Moines metro. Both cities had their own police departments which Oliver oversaw and worked with, however, as the City Administrator in Bondurant, Oliver now works closely with the Polk County Sheriff’s Office who provides law enforcement services, similar to those provided in Grimes. When asked about her experiences and preferences, Oliver stated she is surprised more cities aren’t 12 | P a g e