Emergency Services may be cut

Here is some information that we received. We don't know who the original source is.

"I attended the meeting this morning (Public Safety Board Meeting? - Thursday morning at 7:00 AM), for the public input at the Highland City offices on EMS/Police budgets. (It was at 7:00am, which is darn near impossible for people to attend for public input!!!!)
For right now, they adopted a temporary budget. But these 2 cities are still not in the clear, which will greatly affect our school! If they go with the proposed budget, it will mean we will NOT have a full-time officer on campus next year, and we will NOT be offering the Law Enforcement class. (because Officer Thurston will have to go out on patrol to replace the positions lost)
There are still 2 more times you can give a show of support and request that they DO NOT cut the bduget.
Alpine City Council meeting May 25th 7:00pm
Highland City Council meeting June 1st 7:00pm


PLEASE get the word out, get your neighbors to attend 1 or both of these meetings if you live up here. I don't live in this area, but I am going to both meetings because I work in this area, and so do all of you. If any of you happen to need an ambulance, or police service, you may or may not get it if there aren't enough officers or paramedics able to respond (they cannot leave a call until they are finished, so you would have to WAIT YOUR TURN).


Channel 4 News at 5:00pm tonight will be commenting on this. "
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This is what I (EDB) found out.
I talked to Lorie Adams first. She has been the secretary for the Safety Board for 13 years.
I talked to Police Chief Botkin for a few minutes at Lorie's desk.
I talked to Jess Adamson (past mayor) this afternoon.
Jess and I attended the CC budget working meeting Saturday morning.



BACKGROUND - Emergency Medical Services (EMS) -the paramedics and fire fighters - and the Police have separate budgets and different jurisdictions.


POLICE - Two cities served - Alpine and Highland - The board meets at least monthly and each town is represented by two city councilmen. Larry Mendenhall is the chairman this year and Tom Butler is the second representative from Highland. Ken Hastings (sp?) represents Alpine along with one other Alpine city councilman.


Budget Issue - The board is split. Tom and Ken want to cut the police budget more and the other two are holding the line. Lorie said a split board has never happened before. The respective City Councils will have to direct the board members as to how to vote.


Manpower Issue -
1. The current force has 18 police which is the MINIMUM required for double coverage (responder has a backup) and to have Officer Thurston stationed at Lone Peak H. S. One officer retired a few weeks ago so the current staff is 17.


2. According to Jess, the City determined in about 2005 that the Highland/Alpine area needed 20 officers to adequately patrol the area. This was based on the crime rate in 2004. This provided .873 officers per 1000 residents. The national average is 1.7. Lehi and American Fork run around 1.25. NOTE - Two things have changed since 2005. The populations of both cities have grown AND we are currently in a down economy which historically boosts the crime rate. Our current coverage is about .65/1000 or about half of our neighboring towns.


3. The consequence of NOT replacing the retired officer (bring the force back to the 18 minimum) is, according to Chief Botkin, Officer Thurston will have to leave LPHS and go back out on patrol. There are two problems with this scenario. First, LPHS has historically had a serious drug problem and Officer Thurston's presence is seen as a significant deterrent. He may be indirectly lowering the crime rate in the two cities by curtailing the drug traffic. Second, the Alpine School District gives the Highland police department $34K per year (according to Chief Botkin) to have Officer Thurston on campus full time. If we put Officer Thurston back on the street, we loose $34K. In essence, Officer Thurston is a low cost officer doing crime prevention and he is available to respond to an emergency anywhere in the city.


Rumor - There is some talk about reducing the force to 13 officers.


Conclusion - Based on the information i've been given, it appears to me that 18 officers is the minimum force we should have which means we need to hire an officer, pronto.


Citizen Action Item - Go to both the Alpine and Highland City Council public hearings and tell them what you want them to do. Alpine hearing - Tuesday 25 May at 7:00 PM. Highland hearing - Tuesday, 1 June at 7:00 PM.


EMS & FIRE PROTECTION - Three cities served - Alpine, Highland, Cedar Hills. I think the board has five or six members - not sure.


I have conflicting information. I believe Lorie said the EMS budget was alright. Jess however believes the funding for EMS is in big trouble. I have not had time to verify any of what follows.


HISTORY - Highland was the first city to have 24 hours EMS coverage in all of North County. I saw a presentation by the Fire Chief and we have a very impressive operation. If you have an emergency, as a Highland resident you will be attended by highly qualified personnel and they are less than five minutes away.


Budget Issue
1. Highland got a five year grant for 4 paramedics. The grant runs out this year.



2. EMS has to budget $150K per year for the new fire station. This is only the second year, I think.


3. The EMS department ran a "transfer service" for most of North County - taking people to American Fork hospital - but since AF set up their own EMS department last year, they have taken over much of that service. This WAS a major revenue source.


Obvious Conclusion - It appears EMS has lost much of its funding and will see significant cuts IF some creative alternatives are not found soon. The aging population will probably want 24 hour EMS coverage.


Action Item - Again, attend the public hearings and voice an opinion.


BUDGET MEETING LAST SATURDAY
The new City Administrator, John Park?, was at the meeting. He lives near the Highland boarder in American Fork. He takes office on 6 July 2010. I don't know anything more about him.


Budget - Highland appears to be solvent. That's the good news. The bad news is the City Fathers are looking for ways to establish an operating cushion. This means raising fees on sewer, water, etc. Jess and I talked about this after the meeting and applaud their fiscal responsibility but believe there is a better approach. I'm running some numbers and gathering data. More later.


Budgeting and Accountability - Good news. This council is adjusting some of the fees so the money that is collected is used for that service. Today, for example, the sewer charges generate an overage that historically has been moved to other uses. That is how the $700K the developer paid for the Beacon Hill park got used on ... who knows what. Councilman Braithwaight confided in me that he was on the council a year before he realized how the money was being handled. He is adamant about using the money for what it is collected.


BOTTOM LINE -
Government is as good as the citizens make it.
You may want to understand why your fees are going to go up.
Your services are going to go down in the name of cost cutting if you let it.
The City Council wants your input/support.
These are difficult times.
Hard decisions are being made.
You may want to participate.


IDEA -
Would you be interested in a citizen opinion poll?
I could build an email list of "interested citizens" and when an issue comes up I would be willing to gather the background information and then ask your opinion.
For example: Given the discussion on the police force above, would you vote to decrease the force some more, increase the force to 20 or keep it at the current level (18) even if it meant a small ($2/month) increase in your taxes?