Council wants larger law enforcement presence

The Swinomish police department will not bid for providing law enforcement to the Town of La Conner in 2022, Mayor Ramon Hayes told council members at their Sept. 28 budget hearing on law enforcement. Hayes told a full room in Lower Maple Hall that he and Town Administrator Scott Thomas met with Steve Edwards, chair of the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community Senate and Swinomish police Chief Earl Cowan earlier that afternoon.

“We came to the conclusion that this year there is not time to do a transition. There is no time,” Thomas reported. “That came from them, not us,” Hayes emphasized. Later he said “We’ll have at least one more year with the Sheriff.”

That was probably good news for the three Skagit County Sheriff’s Office staff attending, Undersheriff Chad Clark, Chief of Field Operations Chris Baldwin and La Conner detachment Sgt. Jeff Willard. They responded to questions and complaints and made observations. As an introduction before saying “I don’t want to lose this contract” Baldwin recounted that when he walked First Street merchants told him “’We never see you guys.’” He told the crowded room, “When you say we’re not doing anything we need to know about it.”

Resident Stuart Hutt responded, “You’re just not around. I don’t know what we’re paying for.” Later Hutt stressed, “The main thing is response time, 911 calls. It is not parking (violations).” Councilmember John Leaver echoed that visibility is what residents want to see.

Willard explained that deputies are available day and night in equal numbers. Councilmember Bill Stokes asked for a shift to evening hours for “the in-town shifts we are paying for.” Hayes summed up a possible $217,000 annual cost for a 40-hours-a-week officer with $98,000 first year vehicle costs.

Thomas started the meeting reviewing his memos to council, which included crime statistics provided by Willard (see story, page 10). He noted that property crimes predominate and that while the presence of police officers deter crime, the town’s funds are limited, emphasizing “our resources are not unlimited.”

Council seems intent on staffing the code enforcement position. Stokes has costed out a $23,000 small van. He suggested hiring two parttime employees and splitting weekend shifts would make the job more attractive. Their focus would be parking, speeding, animal control and building inspections, he said.

Asked, Clark responded he would want to work full time and that many see the position as an entry into a law enforcement career. Stokes said he would support either.

As Councilmember MaryLee Chamberlain said, “We are staying with the sheriff’s contract this year, but can ask for variations.” Earlier Baldwin had stated, “It’s a contract. Let’s rewrite it and see what we can do.”

When Hutt emphasized at the end, “We are not satisfied with the service we are getting,” Hayes replied, “We are buying a level of service. If we want more we have to buy more.”

Resident Rich DeShon, a retired career law enforcement officer, was more philosophical, counseling against “an adversarial way of looking at things” and for openness and “looking in a more cooperative manner.”

The 2022 law enforcement budget will probably start with a one year extension of the sheriff’s office contract, which was $331,000 in 2021. That increased 3% from 2020 and will almost certainly increase again. Add to that a town code enforcement position, and a van, at least. Council did not discuss budget totals or funding at their hearing.