WS - C - Law Enforcement Assessment - Final Report

transitioning towards contracting services with the local Sheriff’s Office in lieu of trying to maintain their own police department especially with all the costs associated with hiring and training officers just to only have them leave the smaller agencies to take jobs with larger agencies who have better pay and have more opportunities to work different assignments. The City of Bondurant has language in their current agreement with the Polk County Sheriff’s Office to allow Bondurant to explore its own police department in the future and while Oliver says this is a Council decision, she stated clearly, she would recommend the City stay its current course and continue to contract with the Polk County Sheriff’s Office pending unforeseen circumstances. When asked about the tipping point when Bondurant could essentially support its own police department and personnel at a relatively equal level, if she would then support creating a police department Oliver responded “No”. The law enforcement personnel serving our community are top notch. The deputy who is working right now is referred to as “the Mayor”. He knows everyone in town, does an amazing job of outreach with social media and the youth. The patrol units serving our community are specifically marked with lettering identifying them as Bondurant patrol and the Sheriff’s Office enforces our local ordinances regarding parking, loud music, etc. We also have a process in place in the instance someone serving our community isn’t a good fit, we can contact the Sheriff’s Office and request different personnel. Considerations for Law Enforcement Services in Tiffin’s Future: One foreseeable conflict which may create disharmony amongst other City of Tiffin employees is the competitiveness to attract and maintain quality employees in the public safety field. In preparing a budget for the Tiffin Police Department model, a wage scale was developed in order to attract and maintain quality staff while competing with other law enforcement agencies such as Cedar Rapids Police, North Liberty Police, University Heights Police, Iowa City PD, Coralville PD and the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office. The wage scale below has new employees with no experience beginning at $61,800 as of July 1, 2023. However, the City of Tiffin likely would not be ready to begin implementation of its own police department by July of 2023. To fully understanding the costing details of a Tiffin police department scenario, new employees with experience and education were started at step 7 on the wage scale. This would be for seasoned officers with advanced trainings and certifications. While the necessity exists to be competitive in the market when trying to hire law enforcement personnel, the potential for internal conflict amongst other city employees because of this wage scale should not be overlooked. 13 | P a g e