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As Edmonds faces a budget deficit that threatens to dismantle its police department in favor of contracted services from a local sheriff’s office, a Brier City Council member is sounding the alarm: Democratic policies are bankrupting police departments in small and mid-size cities.

“I’ve been a councilman now for about 15 years, and it’s (investments in a police department) a fairly constant issue with small cities because of many factors, which include legislative changes, administrative costs, personnel costs, all kinds of that stuff just plays into it. They’re a huge matrix that you have to try to solve.” Brier City Council member Mike Gallagher explained to “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH.

Gallagher wants the public to understand the position Edmonds city leaders find themselves in because the City of Brier goes through the same discussions when they look at the escalating costs of their police department versus their overall budget. He fears the public may not fully grasp the indirect role they play in the struggles cities face to afford police services.

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How are Democrats in Olympia bankrupting local police departments?

Every election, voters determine the political futures of lawmakers. However, many fail to notice or fully understand how state and county-level policy decisions drive up costs for local police departments.

“Olympia is a big hurt for us, such as something simple: They change the chase process, and the officers now have to have approval by a supervisor to initiate a chase,” Gallagher explained. “That means that instead of having one officer on duty, you have to have two on duty at all times in case the chase occurs to get the supervising and the approvals. Well, that adds a huge amount to a small town’s budget.”

The Brier City Council member said bigger cities don’t have to worry about this issue, but when you’re smaller, like Brier, it’s something they have to plan for.

When cities have to ditch their police departments and contract out services with other agencies, there’s also an unintended consequence.

Unintended consequences

Law enforcement agencies across the country continue to struggle with staffing. From police departments in Seattle and Tacoma to sheriff’s offices in King and Snohomish counties, there are plenty of openings to fill. And that’s where police departments, like the one in Brier, come in handy.

Gallagher noted that small-city police departments are great training grounds for officers to get real-world experience before making a lateral move to an open position with a bigger agency.

It’s easier and often cheaper to hire a lateral officer because they already have training and real-world experience. Agencies know the kind of officer they’re getting rather than risking a new hire who may not be the right fit once he or she gets out of training and into the real world of policing.

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Voters need to connect the dots

The City of Brier is not looking to make any changes to its police department, even though it represents a significant chunk of the budget. But Gallagher constantly worries about costs because of policies that Democrats have been forwarding in Olympia.

Gallagher’s message to the public is to be more mindful of how laws and policies beyond the control of local police departments impact public safety on the local level.

“The council and the police chief and the administration, we sit at the dais shaking in our boots worrying about what they’re going to do to us next, and is it going to cost us more parks, more police, what’s going to be the effect?” Gallagher said. “We think that, in a lot of situations, our citizens don’t necessarily make that connection. And we’re surprised at that. But we’re still in awe that the costs keep going up, the complication goes up and, to a large measure, it comes out of Olympia.”

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