The final three departments receiving funding from Cheney’s current expense, or general fund, account fall together loosely under one heading — public safety. The word “loosely,” however, only describes the relationship between the three.
Individually, Cheney’s Fire Department can pretty much stand alone with its overall function, although in times of emergency it requires assistance from Police Department personnel. The other two departments, police and the municipal court, share a closer bond as the activities of one generally lead to the workload levels of the other.
All three rely heavily on property tax revenue coupled with charges for services allowed under law in order to meet their needs. And while voters approved lifting Cheney’s property tax levy lid to help police and fire with their needs for personnel and equipment, Cheney’s municipal court is left to find other revenue sources, or hold out for potential levy lid leftovers once police and fire needs are met, to fill their own wish list.
Municipal court
Court administrator Terri Cooper refers to the Cheney Municipal Court as the “third arm of public safety.”
Accomplishments for that arm in 2015 included securing another public defense grant, although the $16,200 was an $1,800 decrease from 2014, renewing the annual $48,000 contract with Medical Lake for providing court services, adding a courtroom security officer and providing domestic violence victim advocacy services at no cost through Abuse Recovery Ministry Services, ARMS. The court also processed 103 records requests, held 1,024 hearings and provided probation monitoring for 228 defendants per month.
The court has seen a steady decline in total filings, which totaled 6,012 in 2011 but are estimated to only reach 4,303 this year. Infractions and parking ticket filings are also down, the latter of which includes Eastern Washington University tickets, while criminal case and driving under the influence filings are anticipated to be up in 2015.
The decreases have led to a reduction in outside revenue for the court from fines, penalties as well as revenue from discretionary costs such as public defense fees, jail and warrants charges along with probation reimbursements.
Goals for the court as part of its $326,900 budget in 2016 include instituting new probation programs for marijuana and sexual assault, further public defense grant funding and technology improvements. Cooper also submitted a list of $23,000 in unfunded discretionary requests for needs that have been overlooked the past several years, and a $4,000 request to help ARMS with its costs.
Fire Department
Call volumes have increased 13 percent over 2014, and Fire Chief Mike Winters said he expected the city to set a new record by the end of Thanksgiving week. Emergency medical service life-threatening calls are up 8 percent, drug and alcohol overdose calls increased this fall and the department set records for overall calls in January, May, June and October.
“We’ve been hopping,” Winters said.
The department has a list of 10 goals for 2016, which include revamping the volunteer firefighter program, working to better response times and replacing outdated and unserviceable equipment. The latter is now closer to being achieved with the passage of the levy lid lift, and Winters listed replacing the department’s 34-year-old, 2.5-inch hose, self-contained breathing apparatus cylinders that can no longer be certified, along with beginning plans to purchase or lease a new number one attack engine as priorities.
Winters also said technology improvements were needed to lift the department out of the 1980s and into the 21st century. Among those are purchasing mobile data terminals for the vehicles, which all departments currently use to access information about structures as crews speed to a fire.
Cheney currently uses three-ring binders.
“It’s really hard trying to drive with lights and siren while you’re holding up a book,” Winters said.
Police Department
While the overall crime rate in Cheney is down 9 percent over last year’s numbers, calls for service to the police department are up by the same percentage, reflecting an average of 2,700 calls per month. Currently, the department averages 3 minutes, 29 seconds in response time for emergencies, an increase of 15 seconds, something Police Chief John Hensley said is “troublesome.”
“Fifteen seconds when you need help is a long time,” he added.
Hensley would like to see that drop below three minutes, and it’s hoped the addition of two more officers, thanks to the levy lid lift, will help achieve that.
Accomplishments in 2015 included upgrading the department’s TASER technology and achieving a 100-percent compliance in its jail and ACCESS audits — the only department in the state to do so. The department also helped breakup a ring responsible for 37 burglaries in Cheney and Spokane, renewed an information system storage contract with Airway Heights and entered into new ones with the Kalispell Tribe and EWU police departments.
Besides new fulltime officers, the department in 2016 wants to hire two reserve officers, begin the certification process in defensive tactics instruction and, like the fire department, replace old, worn out or nearly obsolete equipment, beginning with patrol vehicles.
“The issue with the cars is getting pressing,” Hensley said, adding he has been very satisfied with city’s leasing approach.
“It keeps the cost way down and at the end of the day we own the car anyway,” he said.
Budget figures for the police and fire departments were not presented at the Nov. 26 council meeting and not available at press time.
John McCallum can be reached at [email protected].
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