Is Low Pay Creating a Local Law Enforcement Crisis?

I believe that one potential solution for at least some of this problem is to go Metro. In other words, have both departments combine, and have one department that serves both city and county. It has been talked about over the years, but never seriously considered. By doing this, we eliminate at least the salaries of a few of the top administrators in the City Dept. That by itself is quite a savings. You also end the problem of one department stealing the officers of another, and any other problems or tension that may exist between the two departments now (assuming there are any.) There really is no easy answer for the problem that the county is having now. And if you think Bonneville County is having trouble think about all of the much smaller counties in Eastern Idaho! They have been putting up with this problem forever! Small counties like Custer, Lemhi, Jefferson, Butte, the list goes on and on. They have been hiring deputies, paying for initial training through the POST Academy and then later watching those now experienced officers head off to other, higher paying departments all over the state. No easy solution for most of these small counties. The money to pay these guys well is either there or its not. But Bonneville is larger, and has a relatively large city within — Idaho Falls. So there is an opportunity here, and it should be taken advantage of. The City and County need to merge into one “Metro” Law Enforcement Agency. Say goodbye to the city Chief of Police and about 2 or 3 of his highest paid “administrators,” who I promise you, aren’t doing anything anyway, and have already out stayed their welcome and usefulness. Just my thoughts on the subject.

Going metro might eliminate some dead wood at the top of both departments and save the city / county money but it would do nothing for officer’s salaries. Have no doubt that the powers that be would not funnel these savings into pay raises.

The real problem with county wages goes back about ten years to the Bill Shurtleff era. He became county commissioner and immediately froze the wages of all employees for several years along with decimating their benefits. Allegedly there was a fiscal crisis which I don’t know enough about to say if it was true or not. Regardless, after four years of wage freeze the sheriff’s departments salaries seriously lagged behind and have never caught up.

The IFPD wages lag because for the entirety of the Mayor Milam era she and the city council refused to view the IFPD as its own entity and rather lumped them into the same class as garbage men and flower planters. Whatever raise they got the police got. Curiously the fire department and electrical department are classified seperately. Meanwhile other departments recognizing the serious competition for good law enforcement officers started escalating the pay of their police to be competitive. So the IFPD went from being one of the top paying departments in the state in the 90’s to where it is now, down in the 20’s.

As I mentioned county benefits are poor ever since the Shurtleff era with high deductibles and minimal coverage. City benefits on the other hand are pretty good and the employee pays nothing out of their checks for it. City leaders have used this to justify not handing out very large cost of living raises each year which no doubt has some merit. Last year the COL raise was 1.4% and city leaders justified this by claiming an huge increase in insurance costs. But there is some concern amongst employees that someone is getting kickbacks from the insurance companies because the city refuses and has refused for years to search for competitive insurance. And an employee with no dependents costs the city the same as an employee with eight dependents. This is great for the employee with a wife and six kids but not so much for employee who is unmarried with no kids or the employee whose kids have grown and gone. Most employers and insurance companies offer flexible insurance plans depending on the number of dependents being covered instead of one size fits all plans like the city is taking.

Sounds like some of our past leadership and policies have been penny-wise and ultimately pound-foolish. The continuing saga of Idaho ideology.

Could a combined metro police force really work? What are some hurdles and implications? Would a metro force really save any money?

There are no other metro police forces in Idaho, are there?

Joe, Not being a cop I might be wrong about this. But, Idaho Falls is a metro statistical area. So why couldn’t metro be where the greatest number of area residents live?

Maybe instead of just limiting the “metro” concept to Bonneville County, maybe the Jefferson County and northern Bingham County should be included as well. Then truly that would be a metro effort.

If this sounds like a unpractical idea, it should prove to that I don’t work in Law Enforcement.

However, I have great respect for those who do and would LOVE to see a new, bigger central building house law enforcement and one fire station, as is being discussed.

If this is true, I think it is time for our community to ask if BCSO low wages are adversely affecting Bonneville County safety?

Everybody is hitting the nail on the head here. At any one time there is an average of only 4 deputies on duty in Bonneville County. This is ridiculous. The Commissioners and the Sheriff have been tightwads and somebody is going to get hurt because of it…either a deputy or a victim needing help. The Sheriff is making good money on jail commissary and cable TV dues. He ought to put some money into salary increases to keep people. I don’t blame Steele, Kienlen, or any of those folks for going with IFPD. Money talks…especially when you have to put up with crooks and b.s. from the public that is not deserved (at least sometimes). Why not get paid more if you have to take flack and get no support?

The idea of going metro is a good one. Merging the departments would be good for everybody and save money on personnel….so that we could pay those that we have more to stay on!

I wrote the original article and the subsequent post today about IFPD “raiding” the BCSO again. Hard to tell since I’m anonymous but Joe can verify if anyone doubts.

My raid comment wasn’t meant negatively against the IFPD. Its smart of them to take an already trained officer like Steele. Kudos. I was just trying to show that county continues to bleed.

But I have to disagree with all the Metro comments. All that will do is put all law enforcement under the authority of the sheriff and county commisioners. Meaning that now everyone will get paid like the county officers do. This will just make things worse. Don’t believe for a second that any money saved will go towards employees salaries - when in the history of the world has a company taken savings and improved the lot of their employees? I think some of the former officers posting in this thread are right in some aspects about an IFPD captaincy being a slack job that no one wants to quit but their statements are colored by the fact that they have a lot of personal animosity towards some of these captains like Captain Ra Ra and just want to see him bite the dust.

Also going metro would remove any control the city of Idaho Falls has over the police. The city would now be covered at the whim of the Sheriff. Witness all the infighting that has gone on in the last few years with the city of Ammon and the Sheriff’s department and imagine that times ten which is what you would get if IF went metro.

Has any citizen e-mailed/called the county commissioners to tell them the BCSO Deputies aren’t being paid enough? I know that probably sounds rather dumb, but I just wonder what pressure of many, many e-mails/calls would do?

I appreciate Joe’s comment above. I also believe MOST in law enforcement are underpaid.

I haven’t seen the pay scale, but my understanding is those at the top who are making decision, a different kind of pressure, are well paid. The question is how often do they have to make life and death decisions to justify their salaries?

So let me rephrase what I just wrote and say I think the FRONTLINE OFFICERS are very underpaid for the work that they do.

That being said, in no way am I taking away from what the officers with my following remarks or the risky populations with which they deal. But I think it is myopic to think law enforcement is the only people “at risk” from those in society who make life more dangerous for all of us.

Have you ever worked in a hospital E.R. or O.R. when some of these people have been transported by law enforcement/paramedics for medical care? Have you ever had to wonder if the person who spit on you had an infectious disease (and I don’t mean only HIV, usually a form of Hepatitis or other infectious disease would be more common)?

Have you had to tolerate 12 or more hours of someone calling you all sorts of names and trying to hurt you in any way possible, because you were caring for him/her as s/he came down from his drug high?

How many drunk or stoned people have you had to resuscitate only to have them curse at you, try to bite and kick you and call you all sorts of names instead of saying, “Thanks for saving my life?”

How many times have you had to call Child Protective Services as you knew this person wasn’t safe to be providing care for a child? You think that doesn’t grate on medical, nursing and other healthcare professionals? Think again.

Have you ever wondered if you wondered if you are a carrier of infectious diseases and exposing those in your own home due to your work?

My understanding is most officers work 8 hr. shifts. Do you know how many consecutive hrs. most E.R. docs and nurses work? Or the surgical staff that can’t say “no, my shift is over, that surgery will have to wait until the next shift is totally here,” when someone is rolled in the E.R. with a gunshot wound, or head injury that needs immediate surgery?

And while we’re getting real here about other exposed to danger, let’s talk about those who are brave enough to be the janitors and custodial staff at jails, hotels, hospitals, bars, restaurants and Convenience Stores among many other places. From chunks of broken glass to whatever bodily fluids ended up in the trash, or even disposed of facial tissue etc., I believe many of these workers are daily exposed to risks that those who have desk jobs are not. Hotel housekeeping and food servers can be at risk as well.

What about school teachers who try to help the child who clearly has skin abrasions that clearly look infected and the other kids are ostracizing the child. So the dedicated teacher tries to go the extra mile and be a friend. What about the school teacher who has to notify all the other students parents their kids have been exposed to lice? Doesn’t that teacher have to do the lice treatment as well?

Grocery store clerks, at C Stores working the swing shift, have a job I could never do. It’s not only cops and the E.R. staff who have to deal with drunks or those who may attempt a burgulary to get high again.

These clerks are also exposed to many of the same risks as law enforcement, yet do many of them have a gun to “blast” the person out of the store in which s/he is working?

Then we have paramedics and firefighters that go into all sorts of awful situations. From scooping up the injured with all sorts of bodily fluids exposing them to unknown diseases to having to rescue places which may be infested and infected with all sorts of “creatures” great and small etc. Plus, risking their lives to get people out of burning buildings.

What about the hazmat people who have to clean up after meth labs have been shut down? Are those people free from risk to their own safety, due to the illegal activities of others?

Some may say that in the stories I’ve mentioned the unsavory characters haven’t posed a direct threat like with a gun. I would say why are E.R.’s having to have armed security guards, if you really believe that to be true?

I personally know a physician who caries what is currently an inactive lesion thanks to the kid who exposed that doctor to T.B. Yes, in 2007, T.B. and other diseases are still around, which is why hospital workers have to have (mandatory) the skin test to check for TB. If this physician ever becomes “active,” well fortunately now there is a year long treatment to cure TB. But, the doctor will not be allowed to practice medicine.

And if you keep up on regional news, you’ll know that one week ago a homeless man living in the cab of his former commercial carrier truck, walked into St. Mark’s Hospital E.R. in Salt Lake City with a loaded gun. He never threatened the armed deputy posted immediately inside the door at St. Mark’s. Rather, it wasn’t until he was called back into the room he pulled his weapon and threatened the nurse carring for him.

St. Mark’s isn’t known for getting “street people” as much as some of the other local hospitals. Yet, this nurse had experienced enough similar situations that he contained the situation within 2 minutes.

Oh, then there’s that choice little situation where rival gangs both show up at an E.R. after members of their own gangs have been shot. If you honestly believe the medical and nursing staff are safer than the arresting officer from gangs, I suggest you volunteer your time at a hospital most likely to get the most serious traumas and see how safe you feel. Have you ever been in a locked down ever, given the risks? I have.

It’s true that every group I’ve mentioned and many more I haven’t depend on law enforcement to ultimately protect them from the criminals.

And it’s mostly true that law enforcement officers usually are the ones who have the first line contact with criminals carrying weapons or who have infections or other medical conditions that put others at risk.

So since the theme here is about law enforcement, I will say I agree the frontline officer is under paid and faces many risks.

Nonetheless, I cannot continue to read on Idaho Fallz.Com how ONLY law enforcement officers are those at risk from criminals on a daily basis. I have to make the point that other workers are “at risk” from criminals as well.

I’m just not sure the average person appreciates the risk as others face compared to law enforcement officers.

I believe it was FeelinLucky who questioned the value of an officer taking a car home at night. Do any of the other groups mentioned get a “perk” like that?

Don’t tell me that they are all paid for their work, as I know far too many cases where physicians have been paid zero for after hours to days of care of certain patients. And never believe a physician hasn’t been threatened at gunpoint - that is simply naive.

I appreciate all law enforcement and their dedication for their jobs. They chose to put themselves in daily contact with criminals, and the risks that brings.

I saw the ad in today’s PR advertising open positions at IFPD. Perhaps it was the exam law enforcement officers had to take that was offered. Given the discussions and insight offered here, I wondered how many would even bother applying.

Yet, there are those who want to be in law enforcement and have dreamed of doing that all of their lives. Will the risks outweight the benefits this time? I don’t know.

What I do know is I’m certainly grateful for those who put on their uniform and deal with what comes their way during their shift.

I don’t disagree with you, Anonymous. All I’m saying is for about a year or more I’ve read a lot on this site about the risks IFPC (and BCSO) deputies face.

I believe what others have written. I trust those authors and the facts they’ve relayed. I never wanted to be a law enforcement officer, so I take my hat off to those who do.

While you raise a superb point about the cost of training more officers when one leaves, I guess my question is why are people even taking the entrance exam knowing where the pay scale is now for the more jr. officers?

When I’ve seen some of the payscale sections I’ve seen, they look pretty good for the amount of time it has taken the officer to make it on the force compared to other professions.

I’ll always be an advocate of trying to pay frontline officers and those who make the most field decisions (probably Srgts. etc.) more money. It’s best to retain good people, if possible.

I also know law enforcement officers are people and like many others, not everything in their lives or work is about the bottom line paycheck. Some would rather stay in an area with family members and other “side businesses” etc. and receive what they receive as their salary. I’m sure every officer would like to make more for every 8 hrs. s/he works/day.

But, I’m also going to start adding comments on every cop thread about others who are at risk too. We’ve focused on the PD for over a year.

I respect officers and am glad people want to be cops. I also know the risks others face by, involuntarily, by the work they do when criminals come to their workplace. It’s time those people had recognition for what they did.

When I wrote my earlier comment, I didn’t know about the Hazmat team getting called out today. So perhasp we should focus on the Hazmat people and how much they make. Don’t tell me their work isn’t dangerous, the early hazmat employees who cleaned up the meth manufacturing plants are having all sorts of medical problems now - and even then.

Ultimately, there are a lot of brave and good people who put themselves at risk to keep peace in our society. I just wonder sometimes if people really understand how much risk those, other than law enforcement officers who do carry a service weapon, encounter at times?

Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office cops work 8 hours longer each week AND get paid $4 an hour less than city cops?!?!

They are at least getting time and a half for those extra 8 hours I hope.

Still, mandatory overtime is rough, and makes the job much less appealing.

It’s sounding more and more like the BCSO needs to tidy their house.

Who really is in charge of BCSO salaries? Is it the 3 county commissioners, or the state or public vote or ?

I believe that the Deputies salaries are all set by the County Commissioners. The Sheriff submits a budget each year, and likely requests pay raises. The Commissioners say no. It’s a shame that they do not see the long term benefits and potential cost advatntages. It’s kind of like the City and their “take a car home” program. On the surface you hear about it and cringe. But once you look at it with reason, and look at the numbers, you start to see that it really is a cost effective program. If the County could retain their people, would they save enough money to cover the pay raises? Would they begin to attract other, more qualified people, instead of being a “training ground” that simply pays to train people for other Departments that pay more. And one of the primary things to remember about this issue with Bonneville County is that this is nothing new. This problem has been around for 20 years.

The pay for the IFPD relative to other agencies in this part of the state is good. But once you get away from this corner of the state the pay pales in comparison and as Law Enforcement across the country struggles to fill its ranks the competition is becoming fierce for officers with better pay and benefits well above that offered locally. Which is why the BCSO is now officially a training ground for officers to go elsewhere and the IFPD is danger of becoming the same.

The Post Register ran an article a while back about how Kootenai county is having trouble staffing deputies on the street due to the low pay they offer relative to other agencies. Kootenai county starts their deputies out, according to the article, at about $18.50 an hour which is about $2.50 an hour HIGHER than the IFPD and over $6.00 higher than the BCSO. Granted the cost of living is higher in the Couer d’Alene area than here.

Just a bit off topic I guess, but if you really want to do soemthing to help Law eEforcement in the State of Idaho, help make some changes in the way injured or disabled police officers are treated here. I know many officers who have medically retired from Law Enforcement positions in the state of California. In California, an officer can just about medically retire if he gets a bad headache. I’m serious! I work with 3 guys, all retired cops from California, and all medically retired before they were 50. These guys are strong, active and healthy. Do a little research on your own and see what Idaho does to cops injured on the job. The Post Register should run a story on that! Start by checking out what benefits are now available to the State Trooper who was shot several months ago in Twin Falls. And prior to that– what happend to the State Tropper who was shot years ago near the Utah state line? You may remember –he was the one who was driven to Snowvile Utah in an RV and lost nearly all of his blood. When you find out what the State gave these guys, and compare it to the 80% tax free lifetime salary the cops in California get for a hangnail it’s sickening. Now I am not saying our State system should be set up in such a liberal fashion as to allow abuse (like Californias was) but I wonder sometimes how we even get people to work as Police Officers in this State when I look at pay, retirement and injury compensation benefits. We will take an officer who has been paralyzed for life protecting our State, pat him on the back, say “thanks alot,” and send him home. We owe more than that to a person who has given so much on behalf of us all.

Excellent points, FeelinLucky and Anonymous.

I was (can’t use that word here) off at the legislature for their failure to address the shooting of the Twin Falls area State Trooper. Man, that officer and his family should be cared for by the STATE. But, what did our great legislatures do…. oh don’t get me on that topic.

I’m not familiar with the CDA case, but appreciate the link.

Honestly, I can’t remember the case about the officer being driven to Snowville. But, I sincerely appreciate both of your efforts to educate at least me and hopefully others.

So here’s my newest question: Does the State of ID place enough of emphasis on salary and other compensation for officers? If the State doesn’t, I can see how cities and counties wouldn’t think well-compensated officers and taking care of your own, injured in the line of duty, was that important.

Don’t misunderstand what I’m saying. I’m not saying I agree with that logic, but I keep wondering at which level or with whom we the public can make the biggest impact voicing our views?

FeelinLucky, I can’t even respond to what CA accepts as “injuries.” The ID officers had major life, alerting or ending injuries. They don’t even compare.

Could part of the problem be that politicians haven’t kept up with the growth in raising taxes (or appropriating them) enough to law enforcement? I don’t know, I just ask because I keep senseing somewhere along the line someone is saying officers don’t need to make that much money. I might be totally wrong on this, which is ok - I can be corrected. But I stilll wonder from whom and why are the County Commissioners, City Councils and I guess in the case of the ISP, the state of ID, taking their cues about the compensation to officers?

Thanks again for the info. I’m really learning a lot. I hope others are. I’ve certainly not had an accurate perception before and will gladly admit I’ve been educated.

I truly appreciate the info because I want to see what I can do to help make the situation better.

Going metro would be the WORST thing this area could do to solve this problem. Going metro would help eliminate some dead weight at the administrative level but your delusional if you think that savings would go to help officer’s salaries. All going metro would do is bring the pay of all the officers down to the level the BCSO currently pays. And since the BCSO currently is struggling mightily to fill positions and then retain officers at its current size, it would be stupid to triple the size of the department.

If Idaho Falls dissolved the police department to go Metro they would fire all the city police officers. No doubt the county would then rehire many of them but it would be at county wages.

The two departments “merge.” Savings are realized through the new lack of duplication. There would be no need to lower anyones pay. How many Deputies would be brought up to the city scale by applying the Chiefs $100,000 (plus) salary each year? Not even worth the time to discuss though. We need an official anlaysis of the cost benefits. You and I are just speculating. Unless you are the person who just completed that study - in which case I stand corrected.

Another problem with going metro would be the vastly reduced benefits to city police officers. One thing no city employee, and this includes police, can complain about is the excellent benefits they get from the city which include no monthly deductions for the employee for unlimited family members and very low deductibles. Whereas county employees, including those of the sheriff’s deparment, have very poor benefits with high monthly costs to the employee per family member and outrageous deductibles in the thousands of dollars. Which is just another reason why the county has such trouble attracting and then retaining officers.

I don’t believe any saved money would ever go to improving salaries and I certainly don’t think the county would suddenly start offering all the city officers benefits like they used to have. What you would see happen is all the young officers on the IFPD flee to other departments in the state while the ones staying would be those close to retirement (and thus to old to start over elsewhere) and those who are stuck here due to family ties.

There used to be and maybe still is a problem with pay in the prosecuting attorney’s office as well. Over the last five to ten years the list of former prosecutors in this town has grown exponentially. Thats because your typical junior prosecutor makes only 30-40 thousand a year. Any prosecutor worth his degree can make double that in private practice and sometimes much more. This problem was particularly pronounced during Kip Manwarings term. I’m not as familiar with the current situation so perhaps Dane Watkins has fixed things.

Having read some of the great comments and suggestions here; I would just like to state a couple of facts about pay and hours worked by Bonneville County road deputies and Jail staff…

BCSO Deputies work 12.25 hours per day, 4 days on 4 days off.

They work 86 hours per 2 week pay period.

They are NOT paid time and a half until they work more than 86 hours.

There have been many attempts to educate and inform the commissioners but they are not listening.

I seriously doubt that the Sheriffs Office would purposely violate any labor laws. From what I have been told, there was considerable research done into the labor laws that govern emergency response personnel and the pay policy is in line with those laws.
Its just one more thing that Law Enforcement and other emergency response personnel have to put up with.
Now don’t get me wrong here. The majority of Deputies I have talked to don’t mind working the hours at all. 4 days on = 4 days off. That sounds good to me. Of course there are always those things like court, training and catching up on reports and things that end up falling on days off.

I find it amusing that many people will make assumptions about Law Enforcement and EMS pay, work environments and such; but how many of those are basing those opinions on facts they have gathered or are they basing them purely on assumptions or rumors.
I would suggest talking to the source; as I have. Not the administration but the actual road officers. Of course be ready for a sugar coated response. Most are fearful that speaking their mind may get them into trouble.
Again, Most are happy to be doing the job and really enjoy it. But there does seam to be a growing atmosphere of good, veteran officers that are tired of their families going without. There have been several very good officers leave to work at other agencies and rumors, yes rumors have it that there are several more that are looking at leaving.

Who do you want coming to you or your families aid when something really bad has happened. Go ahead, think of the worst thing you can. Do you want someone who has been on the road for 6 months or a year, or do you want someone who has been on the job for 10 years who has the knowledge and experience and will not hesitate when a split decision needed to be made. I know who I want.

There will always be rookies. That is a fact of life and its a good thing. Everyone has to start at the beginning. But what happens when the entire patrol devision has less that a years experience. Kinda scares me a little, because patrol is where everything begins.

This is a growing problem in our area. I dont know what the perfect solution would be, but I think its something that needs to be talked about and brought out to everyone; because it affects everyone.

I am still waiting to see if anyone has any information on the ‘Independent Contractor’ for the Sheriff, Bud Langerak, retiring from the Sheriff’s Office and then mysteriously being hired back by the Sheriff—probably at a hefty salary increase. What a sham to tax payers and what a disgraceful ethical lapse on the part of Sheriff Stommel. This is classic good ole boy work right here in Idaho Falls. With all the back scratching going on down at the county courthouse it’s no wonder the commissioners and even the sheriff don’t seem to even care about paying deputies more. We are going to get what we pay for pretty soon….and many superior officers will go elsewhere to get paid a better wage and have a more supportive administration. It truly is time for Byron Stommel to retire and take Bud Langerak out fishing with him!

Someone else told me he does special projects for the Sheriff and gets involved in grant writing. Does he make more than he did on the force?

Has this topic died???

There is still quite a bit that could be discussed, particularly a “Metro” law enforcement agency. Perhaps I’m the eternal optimist…I see great opportunity for all concerned.

Bud, if you think going metro would help pay your deluding yourself. You said yourself in justifying vehicle expenses in another thread that you can’t budget for recurring costs. Going metro would drag all law enforcement officers pay and benefits down to county levels because the county isn’t going to be willing to budget for the recurring costs of what it would take to have 70+ officers keep the pay and benefits they have with the city. It would save money for sure but it would make the problem of attracting good officers so much worse because those savings would not and could not go into bettering pay because the savings wouldn’t be near enough to do so.

Also, you should all be aware. Bud is intending to run for sheriff when Stommell retires (which is going to be very soon). So much of what he says is campaigning.

I see a metro force encompassing the city areas of Idaho Falls, Ucon, Rigby, and Shelley more than encompassing Bonneville county. Unless I’m mistaken, Metro forces cover where the population is, not where county borders lay. I think Bonneville county is just too uninhabited to spend the money on a metro force.

So help me understand this, because I keep hearing this metro idea brought up and kicked down, and I don’t know what to think of it. The benefits are one police organization, right, so we avoid duplication of services (such as the departments you mentioned).

What are the cons of a metro force then?

I think it would be a great thing for this area and it would definately save the tax-payers a lot of money. I witnessed this type of thing first hand when I lived in South Florida. There are a number of smaller communites all over Broward County and each had their own police force. When the issue came up to consolidate them all and make the Broward Sheriffs Office responsible each city/community, it was definately a hot topic. However, the majority of those against it were those directly involved, such as the police officers, administrators, dispatch etc.. The law eventually passed and they did away with all individual police departments. The Broward Sheriffs Office now handles everything within Broward County. They did the same with Miami-Dade County and Palm Beach County with great success as well. They were able to save massive amounts of money by doing this, which in turn enabled them to upgrade their patrol cars, swat & bomb squads and other much needed equipment upgrades.
Some people lost their jobs of course, but many of the local officers were able to join the Sheriffs dept as well as some admin workers. For the most part, it was a win-win situation all around.

There’s no reason the Metro system couldn’t work here.
Oneforthecity: why not give us your opinion or some examples as to why you think it couldn’t work here. It works on a daily basis in hundreds of counties across the country. Why wouldn’t it work here? (perhaps maybe you’d be one of those that would loose your job and thats why you’re against it?) Please explain instead of just saying “out area is different”.

Well there you go! Whaddya got to say now city?

I guess I have to shut up since one example of a metro system in a small community was put forth!

They added 2000 people by combining govt and police forces…that’s not even close to what we’d be looking at here. We have 60,000+ in IF and another 60,000+ outside the City in Bonneville Co and both are growing. Also, admin might lose jobs but patrolman / Deputies shoudn’t be afraid of loosig their jobs because IFPD is down several officers and so is BCSO. If they incorporate, population #’s and growth still demands more Officers than we currently have.
I guess it’s fun to talk about but Metro won’t happen here. It keeps the local police issues local.

Love to ride: I’d sure like to see all the data you have collected to develop all the thoughts you have about our Sheriff’s Office, the service delivered, and a Metro agency. I could take your posting and turn pretty much everything you’ve written into great questions.

I live in Ammon, and have absolutely no problem with my law enforcement service. I see patrol units in my tract far more often now than I ever did when living in Idaho Falls. And, the citizens do have a voice in their service through their Council and monthly meetings held with a designated Ammon Council member and our Sheriff’s Office.

As for how Deputies feel about my work, why don’t you tell us your opinion. It is apparent to me that you are a disgruntled Deputy! That’s okay; we all have a right to our opinions. There is no utopia! I have made it very clear to our Sheriff and administration that I will gladly step aside and let a member of the Sheriff’s Office take over my work. So far, I’ve not found any takers.

I have never said that Deputies were overpaid or even adequately paid. In your own posting, you admit this is third hand information, and that is dangerous information to quote! Most cops know better. I attribute this kind of information to folks that wanted to smear my name in case I considered running for Sheriff. Enough said.

As to losing more officers: Lets get real! We didn’t get in the situation we are in overnight; we’re not going to fix the problem overnight. You fail to mention that the County has received higher cost-of-living increases than IFPD for the last two years. You fail to mention that law enforcement Deputies received a 3% wage equity adjustment this year. So, if you qualify for a step increase this year, you will have received a 9% increase in pay in one year. You eat an elephant one bite at a time. I think our Commissioners took a dang big bite this year! And, did I forget to mention the insurance reimbursement check you have received or will be getting?

I’m done…

Sorry for my typos in prior postings. It’s late…I’m tired…and gee, I’ve been working on a $5 million project for our Sheriff’s Office most of the evening.

No excuses…just mistakes.

Wow, there are deeper issues to this than I first thought. Thanks for pointing out how the cons are just questions of how this would be done. Thanks Guest for pointing out some unknown cons/questions, though I think some of your points are assuming and generalized.

I cannot imagine anyone thinking they could rehire the entire IFPD at lower wages (that is too demoralizing), that would be outrageous, so I foresee the BCSO deputies getting the pay raise to what IFPD is making. But pay and benefits are a huge deal to everyone.

Who would win and lose in a Metro force? Would Idaho Falls residents lose with reduced patrols and higher costs? Would Bonneville County residents pay higher fees for our city services currently performed by IFPD? How much savings could we realize with one police force instead of two?

I deal with law enforcement every day, helping to solve problems with patrol optimization,crime analysis and redistricting. I have heard lots of stories from agencies that have merged - Marion County and Indianapolis, Louisville KY and Jefferson County are two that have completed a merge recently. I imagine you would gain some valuable insight on what went right, and what did not in each instance. Law enforcement is not a one-size-fits all application, what worked elsewhere might not work for you, but it is always better to be informed beforehand. You may be able to dodge some land mines.

It might be prudent to talk to all levels within the agency to see how they were impacted before during and after the transition. From upper management on down to the front line officers and support staff. I can tell you as an outsider, they took a long time to complete and there were differences of opinion that eventually got solved.

I suggest looking at the hard numbers on calls for service, the expectations of the citizens on response time and other factors. Provide reasonable figures for future growth and run the numbers again. If you can reduce overtime and maximize your patrol resources, as well as similar measures in other divisions it could be a win for City, County and Citizens. It is likely that both agencies are not at authorized strength anyway. Merging may be a way to accomplish that. You do have to check your ego at the door of these discussions and keep in mind who actually employs you (your citizens)or nobody wins, it just turns into a power struggle and no one is happy.

In Indianapolis and Marion County the Sheriff is the top officer, and the Chief of Police is second in command. I believe they have identified specific functions between each division. I think in IN the Sheriff is mostly custody, court, and civil activity. Whereas the Police department does enforcement. They both share support staff, IT and a single crime analysis unit.

I believe I heard that the main areas for redundancy was more in the non sworn positions, admin support, dispatchers, IT staff, crime analysis and so forth. It may, or may not be the same for your agencies.

Thanks for your comments and your incredible insight Mr.Langerak. Their much appreciated!
I wanted to respond to Guest’s comment #69, but decided against it. I can tell he’s dead set against this whole idea, so I didn’t see a point in going back and forth with him on this issue. I thought you handled it very well in post 71.
It’s nice to have your opinion, views and experience on this site and I look forward to your continued comments and opinions on this and other issues concerning our city.

Bud
I have heard you first hand say IFPD officers make way to much money, and they should only make as much as the median income of city residents. Has your opinion changed?

Going Metro would benefit County deputies. The county will have to get an increase in pay. The city officers will be absorbed at their current pay. Once everything is level, the great county pay freeze of 1994 happens again, and the area has lost competition for good pay for officers. We loose officers on a larger scale to agencies that pay better, and end up with candidates that are not the best qualified, but will “do” because you have no others to pick from. You choose. We always hear that Monopolies are not good in the private sector. I think you will see the same thing in the public sector. One good example is Las Vegas. Went metro, worked good, now North Las Vegas pulled out so they could see an improvement in their local services. If you need a local example try this. Go to the west end of Bonneville county (65th West or further) on Broadway on a Friday or Saturday night. Watch for a deputy. See how long it takes before one passes by. It is not that the deputies dont work, they do, but where are the calls? Ammon. They spend a lot of time in that small town that is eating up all of our (taxpayers) money. How safe do county residents on the west side feel? There are sacrafices, but which ones are you willing to make?

It is well known that the BCSO has lost many officers to better jobs and are now very shorthanded. Until the County Commission does the right thing and makes the BCSO a priority with better pay and benefits things won’t get better anytime soon. Their patrol division is now very young and naturally inexperienced. I am suspicious of “Bud’s” motivations with this metro thing. Could it be a desperate attempt at a hostile takeover of the IFPD in order to take power and usurp the manpower and experience of the IFPD?

Why don’t you choose a name Guest, instead of being so anonymous? We’ve got plenty of “guests” and “anonymous” posters on this site, you can pick a name and still remain anonymous.

Bud
You are absolutely correct, we need to change some of the things that are being done in goverment to make it more efficient. I will go back to an eariler post which asks the question about the cost of vehicles compared to ISP, IFPD, Blackfoot, Pocatello and others. Most Police agencies utilize a standard police sedan at about 20,000 to 25,000.00 In your earlier statement you said that the purchases of 4 wheel drives were for the back country Deputies and Supervisors. If I am not mistaken I have seen a number of locally assigned Deputies driving the Trucks versus the sedans. You state that it is a comfort issue which can be important, however why is the tax payer required to pay for these luxuries. If that is the case, why is the Road and Bridge Crew not allowed the best for comfort, after all they are on the roads clearing snow to keep us safe. You also have to consider the distance that some of the employees with assigned cars travel on a daily basis from the areas outside of Idaho Falls. There will be some detectives who are on call on a continual basis who need a car, but what about the rest of the officers who are given a perk at 3.00 per gallon of gasoline. Does the Sheriff himself really need a 4 wheel drive, when the Chiefs of the surrounding agencies drive a midsize or compact vehicle? The Officers in all agencies need the proper equipment to perform the job correctly. I would challenge Bud to give a listing of the costs associated with the vehicle purchases of Bonneville County Sheriffs Department, along with a list of the installed equipment that is standard for each vehicle and then have someone from IFPD or another Police/Sheriff Agency provide a similar list. This will aid the public in understanding the cost outlay for each Department. This is not meant to be a negative, but a question for answers as a tax payer. At the same time Bud might want to give the percentage of mileage that is driven by Deputies from outside of Idaho Falls City limits and give a approximate cost of those daily trips from Swan Valley, Iona and other locations outside of the City.

Bud, can you explain where you are an outside contractor for the Sheriff’s Office now, why the Sheriff, his undersheriff or someone else at BCSO does not participate in answering some of the questions that have been posted? It is apparent that you are the Shield for those who should be answering some of those questions and are elected to serve?

It’s great to have Bud here giving us a fresh view and an inside perspective on these issues. I for one appreciate his taking the time out of his busy day to come on here, answer questions and offer his views and extensive knowledge on these & other issues related to our great city.
Thank you!

WOW!!! Can I just say “Thank you” for some refreshing questions and ideas!!! I was ready to sign off on this topic, but maybe there is a chance for more positive interaction. Again, thank you!

To Joe Pehrson (post 87): No! Your city property taxes help pay for a variety of services within the city, including your police protection from the Idaho Falls Police Department.

On the tax statement that you likely got in the last day or two for your property, there is a Taxing District called “County”. I am not a tax expert, nor will I state that I am exactly right on my understanding of the total makeup of the levy. With that said, the County levy includes a General Fund Levy, a Justice Fund Levy, the bond payment for the Jail construction bond, and there might be some small levy in there for something I’m forgetting. I believe this is payment 9 or 10 of the 20 year bond. The Justice Fund levy is capped by state law at .2% of your value.

Every County resident pays the Justice Fund levy. The Justice Fund includes: Sheriff’s law enforcement, Jail and Work Release Center operations, Civil Process, Drivers License, Prisoner transport and extradition, our 3-B Juvenile Center, our Prosecutor’s Office, Public Defender’s Office, Court Security, Court Holding Cell and Court Transport, and some District Court staff. About 3 to 4 years ago, I did a detailed study to see where all the revenue streams came from to fund the Justice Fund, because the Justice Fund tax levy is inadequate. At that time, the Justice Fund taxes collected covered about 50% of the Justice Fund expenses.

Many taxpayers are of the understanding that the “Justice Fund” is for the Sheriff’s operations only. Not true, as listed above. Today, the Sheriff has six budgets to operate with (provides us excellent expense and revenue tracking versus one budget). 3-4 Years ago, we had two. At that time, the Sheriff’s operations was about 80% of the total Justice Fund.

The point of this explanation is that I’ve had “lively debates” with city taxpayers saying that they are paying for law enforcement twice; once to the City and once to the Sheriff. It truly becomes a matter of how one wants to take a bucket of sand (money) and allocate it to all the budget buckets in the Justice Fund. The last time I went through this exercise, I could show that Justice Fund tax revenue would support our Jail and Work Release Center, and some of the other non-Sheriff budgets, but not all, and would not offer a penny toward our law enforcement budget. That’s why I say “no” to your question. And, by the way, thank you for asking.

Regards,

Post 82 - Guest: Lots of questions! A full discussion would be a about a 4 foot long post. I’ll try to keep it short…

To compare what vehicles each agency uses, you must first separate the agencies into like categories. Compare cities to cities; counties to counties. In southeast Idaho, every elected Sheriff I know of drives a 4 wheel drive (4WD) because of the terrain he or she must respond to. How many mountains are in Idaho Falls? Zero! How many in Bonneville County? Lots! Our areas of responsibility are different, and as per statute we are responsible for all areas of Bonneville County.

Here’s another difference: How many different types of vehicles does Idaho Falls PD (or any city) need to perform their work. Not many! County? We have several boats for WaterWays Patrol and recovery, Jet skis for more cost effective patrol, snow machines for patrol and to search for lost hunters/skiers/you name it, a couple small motorcycles and ATV’s. And we use this equipment all the time in the appropriate season. We have 4WD trucks for the Back Country because they hold up best to the rugged terrain, and they can carry motorcycles, ATV’s and snow machines. It’s very costly to be a Sheriff’s Office!

Because we are considered one of the top agencies in the State for waterway safety and Back Country programs, we have been able to get most of our Back Country equipment through grants.

Back to our patrol vehicles. We use 4WD Tahoes for our Patrol Sergeants and K-9 units. You might be seeing our newer 2-wheel drive pursuit rated Tahoes; we have several of them because performance and load carrying capacity.

In the early 90’s when I was one of the road warriors (patrol), I drove the large Chevy Caprice. When you put a prisoner barrier cage in a car, you lost 2-4″ of movement in the driver’s seat. If I did not get out of the car every 30-45 minutes, my legs would go to sleep. That is a serious safey problem for an officer. I call that a comfort issue; perhaps I used the wrong word. Does this make sense?

As for Road and Bridge - when was the last time a Road and Bridge worker was in a pursuit and at the end had to jump out of his car and chase down a suspect on foot? Lets keep the comparisons similar, please.

So, which vehicle to use?? From least to most expensive, here are several options:
- Chevy front wheel drive Impala (cheapest)
- Ford Crown Vic Police interceptor
- Dodge Charger hemi Police Package
- 4WD pick-up (half-ton 4WD)
- 2WD Police Tahoe - pursuit rated
- 4WD 3/4 ton pick-up
- 4WD Tahoe

As stated in an earlier post, we look at the total cost of ownership, not just the purchase price. We try to run a mix of vehicles that help us accomodate the needs of the officers. For example, it’s pretty tough for a SWAT team officer to carry all his patrol gear and SWAT gear in an Impala.

A new $18,000 Impala will draw $1,000-1,200 at the end of its patrol life - around 105,000 to 120,000 miles. In the County, we’ve been pulling our Impalas out of service right around 100,000 and deploying the car somewhere else in the County. They’re not worth much, so we’ll run them as long as we can do so economically.

A year ago, we sold two Dodge 4WD Back Country patrol trucks for $14,000 each. We paid $26,158 each. They cost us $12,158 just on purchase price. If I get $1,200 for an $18,000 Impala, the Impala cost me $16,800 to own. Which is a better deal? We use this same thinking for all vehicles purchased. It works for us.

Reference equipment in our vehicles, you are asking something that will take allot of work to provide. I will tell you that Sheriff’s vehicles are typically set up differently than city cars for the same reason we use different vehicles. Most of our Back Country trucks have 4 radios, vehicles in town have 2. To ask for a comparison of a city vehicle to a County vehicle is apples and oranges.

Every Deputy that has a vehicle assigned to him/her and drives that vehicle to and from work does so by policy. Every Deputy is subject to call-out on a moments notice. Some are Detectives, SWAT Team members, Dive Team members, and Negotiators. They respond from their home directly to their assignment. We run tight on staff; this is one way we provide the extra service when the crisis hits.

Bonneville County Deputies may NOT drive their County vehicle for personal travel. Now, you should be asking the City about their program where the officers can drive the car anywhere in the city on their days off. It’s real impressive to see a city patrol car traveling on 17th street with 2×4’s hanging out the trunk.

Hopefully this helps,

Reference my post #90, last paragraph.

I was told that my statement about a city car with 2×4’s sticking out the trunk was a “cheap shot”. If my statement appears that way, I offer my sincere apologies. It was not meant in any way to be such, nor would I intentionally do so.

I see what I see. That’s a fact. And it was a recent event.

Again, my apologies if I have offended anyone with my statement.

Regards,

If I read Post 90 correct it appears that the trend of the Sheriffs Office is to continue to purchase Tahoes as they have now purchased 2wd pursuit vehicles. As a tax payer I am concerned with the fact that these larger vehicles are known for large consumption of gasoline at the pumps. Again with the 3.00 per gallon. How can the Sheriff justify the comfort issue for his officers. When an officer is hired they acknowlege that they will spend long hours in the vehicle (As Do Other Officers from Other Agencies. Using Bud’s own logic if the Deputy is assigned to Ammon he has no mountains to patrol, yet he is driving a Tahoe within the City then it really does not justify the extra expense. One thing that was clear in the response that Bud provided was a return on the sale of the vehicles, but he did not provide the costs associated with the different types of vehicles. I would ask Bud to provide a percentage of the total amount of officers that have a take home vehicle vs. the amount of callouts per year. Provide us with an idea of what percentage of these officers (It appears almost all) are on call and how many actually get called out? This way the public will understand say if a Deputy has a take home car and only gets called out once during the year, that the other 264 days we are providing a luxury for that officer to drive to and from work at Tax Payer Expense. Now if we add up the travel say of 40 miles one way from a location within the County for a total of 80 miles per day, that starts to add up to a substantial amount especially when you add the amount of Deputies that take their cars home. Maybe the Sheriff should look at the program like Idaho Falls and charge the officers per month for that privilege or better yet like the majority of Police/Sheriffs/Highway Patrols have the officers pick their car up at the Station and return it at the end of the Shift. Remember if a car needs servicing it would be readily available rather than having two Deputies go to the offices house, retrieve the vehicle, drop it off and then return the Deputy to his house?

The poster in post 94 has misconceptions about the whole take home car issue.

1. Most departments nationwide are going to this for reasons that I’ll get into.

2. No deputies outside of maybe those assigned to the Swan Valley area live 40 miles away as he suggests. Many live right in town. And they all go in service from their house. So they are immediately on duty in their jurisdiction. Deputies who don’t live in the county don’t take cars home.

3. Deputies, like IFPD officers, are responsible for getting their vehicles in for maintanence. So there is no scenario where 2 deputies have to come pick up a car at a deputies house.

4. Assigning cars to officers creates accountability. If an officer breaks it they are responsible. When 15-20 officers are sharing a car its hard to pin down who broke something. As such maintenance costs drop drastically.

Ha, ha!

But seriously, I still cannot figure out where the buck stops on this issue, in the Bonneville County administration. Is Sheriff Stommel the problem, or one or all of the county commissioners, or the state of Idaho in how they give money to counties, or another entity?

What is the solution for BCSO? Where do the purse strings need to be loosened, who is holding up what needs to be changed over there?

Where does the buck stop on this issue? It seems like it keeps getting passed around each year as BCSO gets worse.

Bud,
In reference to Post #66(sorry I have been out of the area for a while so I have not been able to respond) “It is apparent to me that you are a disgruntled Deputy!” and then a few lines later you said “Most cops know better.” I would like to know who you think I am, because I can assure you that I am not that person. I would think that most cops would know that they should not assume something unless they are positive, but you already brought that up. “I forget to mention the insurance reimbursement check you have received or will be getting?” I have not and will not receive the check as you said I would, but I am glad the deputies will be getting one because they can use anything they can get.

As far as your comment about having never said the deputies are underpaid, I will correct my statement: In April or May of 2005, you said that in order to receive a fair pay you would like for the commissioners to take all of the salaries in Bonneville County and average out the pay and that is what the county employees should be paid, as they are paid for by those very same citizens. You also said the insurance should be adjusted in the same manner. Then you said the same should apply for the employees of Idaho Falls, against the citizens of Idaho Falls. Now I do not remember if you gave a hard number, but you plainly said that both local agencies are overpaid by that standard. I would agree with you initially, until I think about all of the jobs in Bonneville County and Idaho Falls. When was the last time that a cashier at McDonald’s was shot at because their McRib was not right? When was the last time that a Nuclear Engineer was attacked because of the badge he was wearing? I can use both extremes of the pay scale, but I believe that Police Officers should stand in a very small group when their pay is considered.

Now to the “data I have collected”. I am not saying that the deputies do a poor job, but I actually believe just the opposite. I believe they do a SUPER job, with what they have been given. They are experiencing an extremely high rate of turn over which puts the brunt of the work on those senior deputies that have chosen to stay there, as the rest of the deputies are new and still learning or still in training. We also know that they are short staffed because of this turn-over, which is common knowledge. That in turn means there would be fewer deputies on the road than desired. If that is true, then there is a great chance that a more serious problem would draw the deputies to a specific area and that could make it to the terrible situation of not having anyone in Ammon. If that is happening, the citizens of Ammon would not be pleased with the service provided (only guessing as I do not live in Ammon). I do agree that if the citizens would decide to pay more, their service would be better, but my question is would the citizens of Idaho Falls agree to supplement the coverage in Ammon (and other outlying areas) to support the Metro Idea. I would not!

You also said in Post #65 “I cannot imagine (nor would I propose) that IFPD officers lose any pay or benefits”, so an answer to my question is that you would like to see all of the deputies pay and benefits be at the same level as the IFPD. That would mean that the BCSO would have better benefits than the rest of the county employees, which would cause a huge problem, or you would have some officers with one standard and the other set with a sub-standard. That would not fly either.

I think it is safe to say that several people would have to give up a lot in order to make the Metro Idea work and I am not sure if that would be the best situation.

One last thought: (from post #66) “I attribute this kind of information to folks that wanted to smear my name in case I considered running for Sheriff”
Who is in charge of a Metro? Are you in fact considering running for Sheriff?

I am ready for a new sheriff to be in town. I’m sure the resignation is timed to allow for political considerations in naming the post, but that’s how it’s done (whether I like it or not).

I think the police officers are underpaid. I work for the state in a low risk job and I think the last time I saw the numbers, I got paid more than a starting officer…who has to risk his/her neck daily on my behalf.

It was embarrassing to see. (Not that I will volunteer to give up any of my wages to donate to a starting officer, but I feel the city should be more concerned over the low wages it pays staff who are risking their lives on a regular basis).

It’s like the soldiers making so little that their families qualify for Food Stamps. It’s just a shame.

Speaking of the ‘good old boy network’, why is it the local Republican central committee is responsible for submitting 3 candidate replacements?

Can the local Democratic or Libertarian central committees also submit replacement suggestions?

Why is it our top county cop is picked by a political committee anyways? Why don’t the county commissioners just search for an interview candidates themselves?

Can some of the Republicans who I know frequent here answer why the local Republican party decides who gets submitted as sheriff replacements?

Is the local Democratic party allowed to also and they just don’t?

Am I allowed to submit candidates? Why is it that only Republicans can do this? It does not make sense…

I would hate to see someone elected just because they are Republican, mormon, married, white, and male. Rather i would like to see someone who is qualified to have the job.

State Law provides for partisan offices that the Central Committee of the respective party holding the office submit three names to an appointing authority. For the Legislature (State and Federal) it’s the same. For county offices it is the county commissioners. This is to keep in line with the will of the voters (to some degree).

Is it no suprise that Stommel during this “Press Conference” indicated that he would be recommending Paul Wilde as the next Sheriff. Do we really believe that the County Commissioners will put much effort to evaluate 3 separately qualified persons for the position, or are they going to take the easy way out and just appoint Wilde? Will the Commissioners make public what the format the selection process will be? i.e. testing, evaluations, background interviews etc. Doesn’t it appear that we are back to the Good Ole Boy Network again. We are all glad to see Stommel leave, he was taking a high wage with producing no results. He took law enofrcement back 30 years, rather than progressing into the future. Can you say Staginat

I think the process for selection in this case is provided for in the laws or codes of the county or state. At least where the sheriff’s position is concerned, we can directly vote to get rid of whoever is appointed if we don’t like him or her. In the case of Chief Roos, we can’t do much about his appointment, except to try and vote out the mayor and the city council who appointed him. It’s harder to put the pressure on in that case because the police chief will remain in office even if the mayor and city council are voted out of office. And for the paranoids who read this, I am not saying Chief Roos should be gotten rid of, this is just a comparison of the differences between how these two positions are filled and how we as citizens can deal with it.

I read the blurb in the Post Register that talked about what Stommel had accomplished. Maybe they should have talked about the things he did not accomplish. The number of high profile cases that his office still has not solved. It is disturbing to see a person who only attained the rank of Sergeant be placed in a position of Sheriff. It was apparent from the length of his law enforcement career that he was not an upward mover. Then to be placed into this position as Chief Law Enforcement Officer with all of the conflicts that he, himself has created. The people in Bonneville County can breath a sigh of relief. I have to wonder about his wife. He bragged that before retirement that he would have to see if the two of them could get along. Sounds like the attitude he had with other law enforcement.

The Amber Hoops Case, The Ammon Rape Case, The numerous construction site burglaries, the Dead Girl dumped on Hwy 20 Off Ramp between Idaho Falls and North County Line and numerous others. If you are a victim or a family of a victim you want to make sure that your case is handled as diligently as the Downard case. Victims are frequently left in the dark about the progress of the case, and then considered a nuisance if they call the Sheriff’s Office for an update. In other posts there have been discussion about the civil claims filed against the IFPD, it would be interesting to have similar information about the number of suits filed against Stommel and his department due to negligence.

Anonymous is absolutely correct! You can’t solve EVERY case! And if you think you can, you’ve been watching way too much CSI. There are unsolved cases in EVERY police department in EVERY city in this country.

Another comment I felt was unecessary was regarding Stommels wife and them getting along when he retires, was taken completely out of context in my opinion. I’m sure it was just meant to be a lighthearted joke, being that he’s worked so long over the life of his career, and now he’ll be home hanging out with his wife all day. That issue comes up in a number of marriages when people retire. As a matter of fact, it came up just recently with MY parents. My father retire this past June at 72 y/o, but went back to work 4 months later because he was bored out of his mind and my Mother was stressing him out because she wasn’t used to him being home all day. they’ve been married for 46 years….so it happens to couples all the time!

And to it’s crazy to point out what Stommel “didn’t” accomplish. When most people retire, they look back at everything they DID accomplished, not everything they didn’t. Give the man a little credit for accomplishing all the things he did. There aren’t many of us to begin with that can say we’ve been in the same line of work for as long as HE as. So I give him credit for that alone!

Yes, that is correct, Stommel did not rock the boat here. Good job on that part. No major scandals. That is refreshing!!!!

And lets consider some surrounding counties and how their Sheriff’s departments are run:

Lemhi county - their sheriff has been arrested for DUI and then caught drinking on duty in his patrol vehicle.

Teton county - the shot dog incident has opened up pandora’s box as to the problems in that department including things like the majority of their warrants being invalid, bad equipment, and the like as is being currently reported on by Channel 3.

Bingham county - the last election was tumultuous given how deputies were punished based on who they openly supported and didn’t support.

Bannock county - Is Lorin Neilsen ever not on TV? Its like he has his own guest spot on the news given he always there. I guess there really isn’t anything wrong with that but its still odd. Guess its a cheap way of campaigning though and keeping his name in the press. You never see the other sheriff’s though which is why its odd by comparison.

The point is that other than the fact the BCSO is losing deputies left and right due to pay / benefits that Stommel’s administration has been run pretty well.

I believe that Bud Langerak would be a great Sheriff. DON’T MISUNDERSTAND THIS. TO MY KNOWLEDGE HE HAS NO INTENTIONS OF EVER BEING SHERIFF. I HAVEN’T SEEN OR TALKED TO BUD IN 10 YEARS. But I know him and really do think he would be great in that position. Paul Wilde would just carry on status quo.

Obviously they had their reasons, even if you honestly have no clue what they were.
Best of luck in your future endeavors though.

Right now the BCSO will hire pretty much anyone with a pulse and clean record. I heard the other day that in the patrol division, excluding supervisors, they have only two officers with more than three years experience. As such, I find the story the person is giving a bit sparse and I think there is likely something in his background that eliminated him from consideration. Perhaps a criminal record, perhaps he failed the psychological, perhaps bad references, something. If he truly worked for a smaller department I’d be most inclined to say its the psychological as that trips up a lot of people especially those with prior law enforcement experience. Being a cop gives you a rather jaded outlook on society and this shows up on the psych test which is usually some canned multiple choice test designed by shrinks and a computer reads your answers and says your a risk and at that point your out of the running.

They are generally given only at the beginning of an officers career, but can be given after traumatic incidents like shootings, suicide cases, really anything that causes extreme mental distress. It is pretty much up to the administration and done to make sure the officer is ready to return to the job.