Council signs 5 year Sheriff’s agreement

The La Conner Town Council agreed, with Councilmember John Leaver voting no, to a five year agreement with the Skagit County Sheriff’s Office at its Dec. 14 meeting.

New to the contract is patrol and community policing services, with twice weekly pedestrian patrols on Morris and First Streets. Deputies will now handle dangerous dogs, parking, blocking rights of way and camping on public property.

La Conner becoming a base in a precinct-type system may be three years away, Administrator Scott Thomas said. Mayor Ramon Hayes introduced the issue in November when the draft contract was introduced.

Deputies will provide a base level of services, defined as “at the same level, degree and type as is customarily provided by the county in the surrounding unincorporated Skagit County … during the ‘in town’ hours as defined in Exhibit A.”

Exhibit A has not changed since 2016. Sheriff’s deputies are committed to “a minimum of 80 hours per week, within an area that will allow a response time of 10 minutes from the time dispatched.” The region is west of the Skagit River, east of Anacortes, north of Fir Island and south of Josh Wilson Road. Leaver has long objected to this provision, which does not require staff time in La Conner.

The sheriff’s office has been tracking staff time in La Conner using GPS equipment since the summer and recorded over 100 hours a week in town in August..

The contract runs the calendar year. Annual cost negotiations are to start Sept. 15 for the following year. A 12 month advance notice of termination is required. Adding additional services – staffing – requires an 18 month minimum notice.

After Thomas’s five minute summary of the 14 page agreement the council voted 4-1 to approve it without discussion. Council had the draft agreement in early November and law enforcement had been discussed repeatedly since early summer, when Thomas provided a summary of options for law enforcement ahead of lengthy discussion at a council meeting.

The agreement is very similar to the three year 2017-2019 15-page contract agreed to in 2016 and extended in 2020 and 2021.

The council next approved the 2022 budget, with $338,547 for one-year funding for law enforcement services, a 2.2% increase over 2021.

The mayor noted later that the Town expects a proposal from the Swinomish Police Department next year for law enforcement services.