Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
They had to bring in extra chairs from the Lions Club hall.
In a packed Palouse city council meeting Tuesday night, citizens made their input known as the council voted down a proposal to cut the police staff to one and end their shared-police contract with Garfield.
Later, the council instead approved the reducing of one officer to 3/4-time.
The meeting drew a crowd of about 15 residents, along Palouse’s three police officers and family members.
It was a follow-up to the Oct. 23 meeting in which councilman Cecil Floyd brought up the idea of making large cuts to the town’s police force in order to balance the budget for 2013.
The meeting Tuesday night began with Mayor Michael Echanove giving the floor to Palouse Police Chief Jerry Neumann. He told the council and gathered citizens about how, when he moved to Palouse to become the police chief, he spent that winter in a camp trailer and then built a $300,000 house for his family.
“We’ve made this our home, we’re glad to be here,” he said, sitting next to his wife and son.
Then he went down a list of cuts his department could make, namely a 25 percent reduction in hours for the third officer. Palouse shares three policemen with Garfield.
“If we are gonna go down this road, I feel the police department has done its share,” he concluded, after noting the reduction in the one officer and their previous change of insurance in which one officer went on his wife’s policy.
Councilman Floyd reported on research he had done in talking to other towns such as Tekoa, who contract with the sheriff’s department for police coverage. Floyd said that the best scenario was a reduction in staff.
“The whole thought process is, if we could reduce the staff we could balance the budget,” said Floyd. “We’re at a $15,000 deficit. I’d like to motion to reduce staff to one officer and drop the Garfield contract.”
“I second,” said Councilwoman Allison Webb.
“We haven’t had the discussion yet about the budget,” said councilman Rick Wekenman.
Then Mayor Echanove got up and walked over to a large tablet with some graphs on it.
He went down the numbers of hours a police officer works, including vacation time, sick time and administrative leave.
He said with an eight hour standard workday, “that’s 16 hours a day that no one’s on duty. That’s why officers burn out when it’s just one. How can you go to a movie? How can you go to Spokane?”
He noted Palouse pays $106,000 each year for their police. He worked it out to $110 per Palouse citizen per year.
“With three officers, we’re spending less than in 2006 because of the Garfield contract,” said Echanove.
Councilman Wekenman then pointed out other savings that could be had for the Palouse budget.
He named elimination of non-essential overtime, cutting the cemetery budget from $15,000 to $10,000 per year, shutting down the public restroom during the three coldest months, and shutting off more city lights downtown and at the city park.
“Between law enforcement’s proposals plus these others we’ll be able to get our budget in hand,” Wekenman said.
Councilwoman Connie Newman asked Public Works Assistant Mark Arrasmith how a cut like that would affect the cemetery.
“At least two of the older sections, they’ll just dry up,” he said. “We’ve kept the cemetery looking at this level for 60-70 years. A lot of older people appreciate this. I don’t know what to tell them.”
Then the public made comments about the potential cuts.
“If there’s a prowler in my neighborhood, I do not want to wait for a Whitman County Sheriff.”
“If I want to live in a town without a police department, I’ll move to Somalia.”
“Are we taking care of the live citizens of Palouse or the dead ones?”
“I’m appalled that this motion came up without a town hearing.”
“I’d like to have the opportunity to vote it. I’m more than happy to help pay it. As a citizen, I didn’t get a say.”
“I don’t think it’s that we don’t want police, it’s that we can’t afford it… this is an old community, our infrastructure is old. I don’t know where we came up with three officers to begin with, in a small community.”
A discussion followed regarding which of these proposed cuts were reflected in the preliminary budget.
“To me, it sounds like hope,” said one man in the audience. “There are things in the plan that aren’t in the plan.”
“I agree with that, this is hope,” said Floyd.
“We cannot solve the problem if we don’t define it accurately,” said Councilwoman Connie Newman. “The problem is spending more money than we’re making, period.”
She went through general fund budget figures since 2009.
“In the last four years, we’ve spent almost $82,000 more than we made,” she said. “If the trend continues, we’re bankrupt in two and a half years. Bankrupt… I’m frustrated. Tonight is the first time we’ve had a finance report. This is the first time we’re hearing this too. This needs to start in July… My personal bottom line is that we balance the budget.”
“I think of that as a carryover,” said Councilman Tim Jones.
“That’s what it is,” said Mayor Echanove.
“I think of this as a rainy day fund and it’s raining like hell out there,” Jones said.
There was a comment in the audience about wanting to see more levies. It drew another comment in support and then two others.
“There has been discussion,” said Councilman Wekenman. “Levies are always a risky proposition. Especially when there are multiple. The street levy last year passed by six to 10 votes.”
In the audience was Garfield Mayor Jarrod Pfaff and Councilman Tim Southern.
“You have a mass problem,” Southern said. “Declining money. You can’t solve it with one cut like this.”
“I want to know how the council feels, the stress is killing me,” said Chief Neumann.
Mayor Echanove then took Floyd’s motion to a vote: should the city reduce its police force to one officer and drop the Garfield contract?
The motion failed on a 4-2 vote.
Later, Wekenman made a motion to reduce Palouse’s youngest policeman, Officer Dentler, to a 30-hour week, while keeping his full benefits.
Floyd seconded it and it was approved unanimously.
Still later was the matter of whether to restore the three percent pay cut that all city employees took in last year’s budget.
Councilwoman Newman made a motion for no restoration.
Floyd seconded it.
The vote came out tied, 3-3.
It went to the mayor to break it.
“The mayor will side with the no restoration,” Echanove said.
The Palouse council will take up the 2013 budget matter again at their next meeting, Nov. 27. State law requires the town to submit a budget by the end of December.
Garth Meyer is a former Whitman County Gazette reporter.
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