Rigby Police Chief to Mayor: Don’t shut down our department
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RIGBY – The Chief of Police for the city of Rigby issued a statement Monday morning regarding Mayor Jason Richardson’s proposal to consolidate the Rigby Police Department and the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.
In the statement sent to EastIdahoNews.com, Chief Keith Hammon writes:
“We, as members of the Rigby Police Department – as well as citizens of the city of Rigby – understand the financial concerns of the Mayor. We understand he feels the weight of responsibility. We are taking steps to do what we must do to support fiscal cutbacks deemed necessary, as proposed during the last Council meeting. We’re currently working on two proposals to trim our current budget to present to City officials. We hope to be able to resolve the problem at hand by making fair, sometimes deep, cuts to maintain services and programs, with a suggestion that all other city-funded departments scrutinize their spending. We feel keeping this 112-year-old institution of dependable police protection is paramount to the well-being of the citizens of Rigby. We love this great city and have expectation of providing quality service, while meeting budgetary limitations.”
Last week, Richardson went before Rigby’s city council with the proposal. He says the consolidation will save the city hundreds of thousands of dollars.
“There’s a lot of impetus to get this going. This particular option of saving a fourth of our entire tax revenue, to a third of our entire tax revenue, really helps the city along in the direction we would like it to go,” Richardson told KPVI.
The Rigby Police Department currently employees seven full-time people and officials say only four would be hired to work at the sheriff’s office if the consolidation happens.
Richardson hopes to have a public hearing on the issue within the next two weeks.
Stay with EastIdahoNews.com for the latest on this developing story.
