Cheney public safety needs - Part 1

CHENEY – For the city’s public safety chiefs, additional personnel is the number one item needed to address issues in the two department’s 2020 budgets.

For Police Chief John Hensley, adding a police detective to handle the ever increasing investigation needs and another police officer to deal with overtime top the goals for the coming year. Hensley also hopes to replace two aging patrol vehicles and the outdated and worn exterior video cameras downtown — the latter through a Spokane County grant.

The additional personnel are needed in the department’s $3.308 million budget because of some of the challenges Hensley sees in 2020 — specifically “an increasingly dangerous and violent element coming into town” which, along with a growing population base, helps contribute to a rising number of complicated investigations. It also creates additional public records requests and demands on staffing.

“I think you’ll see that across the city, people cost a lot of money,” Hensley said of the budget, 83 percent of which covers wages and benefits.

The department has seen a drop in calls for service, from 32,569 in 2016 to 26,859 so far in 2019. Part 1 crimes (criminal homicide, rape, robbery, assault, burglary, larceny, auto theft) have declined from 344 last year to 309, with a significant reduction seen in assaults, down from 115 to 89.

Hensley also singled out larceny, which dropped from 161 in 2017 to 140 in 2018 and 2019. This, and reductions in all other categories, comes through educating the public about safety as well as increasing the number of officers, which broadened the patrol capabilities.

“It used to be that when an officer worked by themselves they’d cruise up and down 1st Street because that’s where the action is,” Hensley said. “But now because we have more resources, we’re still able to have an officer on 1st Street but the others are cruising around our residential neighborhoods where we come in contact with your burglars, your auto thieves and so on.”

The department has also seen a decrease in its response times, particularly with Priority 1 (emergencies) and Priority 2 calls. On the increase is the complexity of crimes, crimes that sometimes bear the possibility of escalation in severity — especially after hours.

“It’s a dangerous world out there,” City Administrator Mark Schuller said. “There is a dangerous element moving into town. The feel out there is real. There’s some definite stuff going on in town after dark.”

Schuller stressed much of this wasn’t coming from Cheney residents but rather outside elements. That provoked a request from Councilwoman Teresa Overhauser to include in future crime stats incidents where people encountered were armed.

Councilman Paul Schmidt commented that there are things the council can do to get landlords of property where some of these criminal incidents are taking place to do something and deal with that element.

“I have always felt safe in Cheney, and that has not changed,” he said. “But that’s not to be taken for granted.”

Paying for another officer and detective will come from the city’s levy lid lift revenue. Voters approved the lid lift in November 2015 to fund public safety only, and that money now accounts for 23 percent of general fund revenue.

Since the first collection in 2016, lid lift revenue has ranged from $383,000 to $466,700 in 2019 and has paid for things such as additional officers and a new main attack fire engine. In 2020, that revenue is projected to be $501,000.

Finance Director Cindy Niemeier told the council the department’s request for replacement patrol vehicles has been funded, as have other needs through the criminal justice fund, along with salary and benefit increases. As for another patrol officer and detective, together with requests from the fire department for personnel, some money still exists to do this through the levy lid lift.

“That’s a conversation that needs to happen as far as funding goes,” she said.

Next week: The Cheney Fire Department’s 2020 budget, which focuses on additional personnel for safety and training purposes.

John McCallum can be reached at [email protected].