ARCHIVE

The price of protection: Marion police chief defends budget

Staff reporter

Marion Police Chief Michel Soyez takes his responsibility seriously — very seriously.

Recent comments from Marion City Council members prompted Soyez to talk about his department, the budget, and a shortage of office space.

The five-employee department provides nearly 24-hour city coverage.

"This schedule gives us the ability to cover time shifts that help reduce crime," Soyez said.

It also allows coverage for those officers on sick leave, vacation, or attending training.

"Also with a fifth officer, we can have a detective," he said.

A detective devotes the majority of his time to clearing cases — particularly cold cases or those cases that have not been solved during a desirable period of time.

Speaking of case clearance, the department boasted nearly a 90 percent clearance rate in 2005 with 196 of the 233 cases being cleared.

"There weren't any unsolved first-person, violent crimes (rape, battery, burglary, etc.) in 2005," Soyez said.

With a relatively new force, Soyez has been with the department since January 1999, and became chief in October 2002.

Lieutenant detective Dean Keyes joined the force in February 2002, officer Howard Kahler in July 2004, officer James Parmley in October 2004, and Steven Janzen in March 2006.

With a larger police force come more costs — personnel (salaries, health insurance, retirement contributions, etc.), equipment, and uniforms.

Soyez and his officers have changed the type of uniforms they wear from expensive Class A polyester uniforms that require dry cleaning to washable, cotton-blend shirts and pants.

"The dress uniforms would cost $200 to $300 per set per officer plus $1,200 a year for dry cleaning," Soyez said. He recently purchased three sets of pants, long-sleeve and short-sleeve shirts for the officers at a cost of $1,200.

He also is considering purchasing shirts with long sleeves that can be rolled up as short sleeves.

The building

The metal building that houses the police department and Marion Fire Department was constructed in 1995, and was designed for three officers.

Technology, collection of evidence, and record storage were different in 1995 than what it is today.

Computer equipment, the handling of evidence, and specific protocol for record keeping have limited the use of the building.

"In 1995, we were right on the edge of technology," Soyez said. "More evidence must be collected now which means more storage area."

Evidence collected from unsolved, violent crime scenes must be stored indefinitely. More types of evidence are collected now than before. Storage racks have been installed to utilize every square inch of the 190-square-foot room, and it's full, Soyez said.

"Dean (Keyes) recently took training regarding evidence storage and disposal," Soyez said.

A separate, locked records room is required by state statute and a separate file cabinet is used for juvenile records.

A separate interview room also is a part of the office space which must remain for that purpose.

"The building was designed for three people," Soyez said, with two office spaces in the main office area for two officers and an administrative office for a chief.

"Now we have three officers, three computers, and work stations in the front office area," Soyez said.

Soyez's office is at Marion City Building with the city offices. Detective Keyes' office is in the administrative portion of the police department.

Expansion is a possibility, said Soyez, and is an idea he probably will propose to the council in the future. He suggested discussions with the fire department to determine their need for expansion and doing both projects at the same time to save money.

"The only direction we can expand the police department would be 20 feet to the east," he said, which would increase the police department portion of the building from 40x36 feet to 60 x 36 feet.

Currently a building that houses two businesses shares access and a parking lot with the police department.

"We don't want to do anything to impede the adjoining property owner," Soyez said.

Occupying an existing, downtown building is not a desirable option to Soyez because of security purposes, and building a new structure would probably be cost prohibitive, he said.

"I like having the emergency services (police, fire, and ambulance) in the same area," Soyez said.

The budget

The police department budget recently approved for 2007 is $294,182, a $6,477 increase from this year's budget.

When determining the 2007 budget, Soyez and city administrator David Mayfield analyzed actual expenses from 2005, and obvious trends in 2006 to determine a guess of expenses in 2007.

The January 2005 ice storm threw that year's budget out of whack because of unexpected expenses for overtime pay and equipment repairs.

Skyrocketing fuel expenses were anticipated in the 2006 and 2007 budgets. Property insurance also has significantly increased in the past two years — from $9,500 in 2004 to $12,061 in 2005.

The actual increase in budget from 2005 to 2007 was $7,335.

"We're pretty much caught up as far as communication equipment is concerned," Soyez said. The department has used federal grant money to purchase the more recent acquisitions.

However, even grant-funded commodities come at a price.

"When we accept federal grant funds, we have to maintain the equipment (per specifications) and/or replace it with the same equipment," Soyez said, and have to budget for that.

"Our first and foremost responsibility is to serve the citizens of Marion," Soyez said. "We are not a revenue-generating department."

A small revenue is realized from providing vehicle identification number inspections when individuals purchase out-of-state vehicles which requires an inspection.

That revenue helps to offset some equipment costs, he said.

Otherwise, the department does not gain significant revenue from citations or other means.

"We patrol within the city limits. Our duty is to serve this community," Soyez said.

Comparisons

How does Marion Police Department stack up budget-wise with other law enforcement agencies in the county?

Comparisons have been made at council meetings between the police department budget and Marion County Sheriff's Department budget.

The sheriff's budget also has seen a steady increase — primarily in personnel services — much like the police department.

The sheriff's budget in 2005 was $426,000; $436,341 is estimated in 2006; and $507,745 is being proposed for 2007. This does not include capital outlay for vehicles and special equipment.

A comparison of Hillsboro Police Department with Marion was made.

The Hillsboro department has five full-time officers — a chief, assistant chief, sergeant, and two patrol officers.

Police chief Dan Kinning said his department is stretched fairly thin and would like to incorporate more use from his four part-time officers. Part-time officers can work up to 1,000 hours per year.

"We need more assistance with more events that bring in more people," he said.

Since there is not a designated detective in the department, everybody does their own investigations, Kinning said.

Kinning, a former detective with the department, does the higher level investigations.

"We stay well above the national average for crime clearances," he said.

The national average is 25 percent, Kinning said, with Hillsboro at 50-65 percent for any given year.

Vandalism, burglaries, and thefts are the more common crimes with a major increase in child abuse cases this year, he said.

The Hillsboro law enforcement budget in 2005 was $302,060, $317,500 was estimated for 2006, and $345,000 is proposed for 2007.

The majority of that budget is for personnel, more particularly overtime worked by officers.

These city budgets do not include capital improvements or special equipment.

Quantcast