Deputies will continue to patrol Sisters area

The City of Sisters will not have a full-time police force — at least not for a while. The Sisters City Council recently agreed to extend the existing three-year contract another three years beginning July 1, 2005. That contract provides for police protection through the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office.

In case the city changes its mind and wants to go with its own full-time police department, there is a cancellation clause whereby either party can terminate the contract with 90 days’ notice.

The current contract, which the new one will virtually duplicate, provides law enforcement services within the corporate limits of the City of Sisters. The contract calls for a minimum of 120 hours of weekly patrol coverage, including hours allocated to training and authorized leave.

Specific concerns to be addressed by the sheriff are enforcement of school speed zones, neighborhood and city park patrols, nighttime business security checks, support of the city’s special events and support for youth activities such as high school sports events.

In addition, the sheriff will provide a monthly report of all law enforcement activities within the city and in the area generally known as the Sisters School District.

The sheriff will supply all labor, supervision, equipment, and other supplies to maintain the agreed-upon level of service.

A new contract will cost Sisters $356,694 for the first year. Cost escalators are likely to be 8-10 percent per year. To satisfy the contract the Sheriff’s Office will assign deputies to Sisters who work all of western Deschutes County.

So there will be times, when deputies are called to other parts of the county, when Sisters will have no coverage. Currently Black Butte Ranch officers provide backup.

Some city residents, Mayor Dave Elliott included, believe that the city should have its own 24-hour, seven-day-a-week police force. Les Stiles, Deschutes County Sheriff, has provided figures in the $1 million range for the Sheriff’s Office to provide 24/7 service.

Adding startup costs for vehicles, liability insurance, and a regional radio system/dispatch Stiles estimates a cost of $1.5 million annually for the city to finance and run its own police department, exclusive of involvement by the Sheriff’s Office.

Mayor Elliott thinks it can be done for less. Comparing data from other police departments in Oregon, Elliott has compiled enough information to make him think it can be done for $400,000 to $600,000.

The Sisters Police Department was replaced by the contract with the Deschutes County Sheriff about six years ago, in the wake of a labor dispute.

Elliott would like to see a Sisters Police Department. He adds, “I am 100 percent in favor of having our own police department. But I will not jeopardize the good fiscal responsibility that we have shown over the last 10 years. The city is in excellent financial shape and I won’t jeopardize that.”

He continued, “Looking at the present contract for almost $367,000, add 10 percent for another couple of years, and we are at the low-end break-even point for financing our own police force. And that’s for 24/7 coverage.”

Should Sisters have its own independent police force?

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