EAGLE, Idaho — Since 1996, keeping the Eagle community safe has been a joint effort between the city and the Ada County Sheriff's Office.
"We provide a chief of police and police services to [the city]," Ada County Sheriff Matt Clifford said. "They work in conjunction with the mayor and the council while they remain Ada County Sheriff's Office employees."
However, there is some friction between the two right now as the city and county work on a new contract. Clifford said the city currently pays about $3.7 million for services.
That money goes toward wages and equipment costs. But with inflation, overtime expenses and county-approved cost of living raises, Clifford said that $3.7 million is not enough anymore.
He hopes Eagle pays $4.2 million for the 2024 fiscal year. The $500,000 difference is the minimum amount to account for population growth and overall need, Clifford said.
Mayor Jason Pierce said the city is potentially willing to pay more money, but he is concerned Eagle residents are paying double because Eagle officers are responding to calls on nearby highways.
"If the county would take care of that like they're supposed to through state code, then we could have our officers doing other things in the community," Pierce said.
Clifford said responding to those calls is just part of the job.
"Those highways are in the city," Clifford said. "It is the responsibility of the municipality to patrol those highways if they want better service for their citizens."
With all the growth, Clifford said it is up to Eagle to decide what its police force looks like. If the city does not increase the contract amount, the Ada County Sheriff's Office will have to cut back services.
He also said Eagle already does not have enough police. The department has 28 employees, including a police chief, an administrative assistant, three sergeants, 12 patrol officers, two traffic officers, two special enforcement officers, five detectives, one code enforcement officer, and one community service officer.
If Eagle City Council members decided not to up the amount, Clifford said they would likely have to cut the traffic enforcement team and officers who patrol the Greenbelt, trails and various parks.
Pierce said his ultimate goal is to continue contracting with the sheriff's office since they have historically had a good partnership. The city could also potentially start its own police department, but Pierce said that would be more expensive and take years.
"We get the best bang for our buck," Pierce said. "I've always liked the contract that we have with the sheriff's department. I just have to look at it, and the council has to look at it and make sure that Eagle residents are not paying twice for the same services."
City council members will vote on any potential contract increases in August, Pierce said.
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