City - county police merger on agenda

The Sisters City Council will meet with Sheriff Greg Brown on Tuesday, November 25, to discuss merger of the Sisters Police Department with the Deschutes County Sheriff's office.

"The council has not made a decision yet on what they want to do. That will be the time that they put everything together," said Sisters City Administrator Barbara Warren.

The actual vote will be held on December 11, according to Warren, who thinks that most of the council is in favor of the merger, with the possible exception of Council President Gordon Petrie.

"He feels we will lose a lot of control, and he does not want to do that," Warren said.

Petrie said that he was not necessarily opposed to a merger. He was concerned, however, that the city would be giving up their police vehicles and radios to the sheriff's office in exchange for the sheriff assuming about $38,000 in overtime debt owed to Sisters police officers.

"If we want to get out of the contract in five years (when the contract between the city and sheriff's office would expire) we will not have any cars or radios, and given the state of the budget, I don't know that we can put any money aside to reconstitute a police department if we don't like the arrangement with the county," Petrie said.

Warren thought the police officers themselves were generally in favor of the merger. While she had not talked to them individually, being with the sheriff's office "would give them more chance for advancement and a greater chance to make more money," she said.

Warren said the original goal was to make the transfer effective as of January 1, but said "I am not sure the council will make a decision that quickly."

Sheriff Brown said if the city did make a decision on December 11, his office would be prepared for a quick transfer. "Everybody may not have a full county uniform for the first week or two, but we would be prepared to have the merger in place on the first of January."

Brown said he has been receiving a very positive response on the idea of a transfer.

"I am still working on this in the interest of the citizens of the area. I think it will benefit city residents and address the needs of people outside the city. I think we are doing the right thing," Brown said.