Hayden council, safety commission workshop focuses on sheriff contract, overhead and vehicle ownership

Hayden City Attorney Fonda Jovic opened a July special workshop on a draft law enforcement services agreement provided by the county, saying the county'provided contract sets a basic template "you then city, you set your budget and you plug and play the level of service that you want built into that agreement." City and commission members spent the meeting working through negotiable items including level of service, overhead calculation, vehicle ownership and accountability.

Why it matters: Hayden has budgeted for outside law enforcement for the coming year and council members pressed for clearer contractual language and oversight to ensure the city receives the level of service it pays for. Officials flagged several financial and operational issues they want reworked before signing a one-year agreement.

Workshop discussion centered on three county options presented to the city. Jovic said the county'provided options include different mixes of deputies, supervisors and an overhead allocation; she described the county'approach as a plug-and-play model tied to the city'budget. Council and commission members repeatedly questioned why the county'proposal uses a 60% overhead figure in one option when other options use 40%.

Council members pressed for clearer language on who controls day-to-day operational responsibility versus financial authority. Several council members noted the difference between the county commissioners'role on finance and the sheriff's operational control. Jovic said contract language can be revised so financial references use "county" and operational references use "sheriff." Captain Dave Hager, introduced as a consultant and longtime police captain, described the practical need for some "pool" of deputies to maintain coverage when assigned personnel are absent.

Ownership and depreciation of vehicles funded by the city drew sustained debate. Council members asked whether vehicles funded by Hayden but purchased or held by the county would remain county property and whether the city would effectively be paying for vehicles that the county would depreciate on its books. Council members said they preferred language clarifying that capital assets funded by the city be retained by the city or otherwise credit the city.

Accountability and data reporting were a second major focus. Jovic and council members discussed monthly reporting options the sheriff's office can produce and the specific metrics the city wants, including calls for service, detective hours allocated to Hayden, arrests, citations, traffic stops and response times. Jovic presented summary figures showing Hayden recorded 22,011 calls for service in 2024 versus 64,275 for the whole county ("just under 35% of the overall calls for service," she said). Several council members and deputies warned that raw call totals can be inflated by officer-initiated checks and noncriminal medical calls, so the group requested results-driven reporting (clearance codes, arrests/citations/reports) and hotspot mapping.

On personnel matters the council discussed whether the city should have explicit contract language allowing the mayor or city administrator to request replacement of a deputy who has performance issues. Jovic proposed adding language giving the mayor or designee input on performance concerns to trigger a county/sheriff response. Council members also debated how to define "assigned" or "dedicated" deputies versus a county pool used to backfill absences.

Financially, council discussion returned to three options and the city's recently approved budget. Jovic said the city has already approved a budgeted amount for law enforcement for the year and the workshop's job was to align a one-year agreement to that figure. Multiple council members signaled a preference for the county option that would produce fewer deputies but a lower immediate cost (referred to in the meeting as "option 3"), combined with pushing the county to accept a 40% overhead rather than 60%. Participants suggested using existing city budgeted line items (an unspent vehicle allocation) to try to buy down costs or add an extra deputy if staff can secure a lower overhead rate.

No formal contract approval occurred at the meeting. The only formal vote recorded was a council roll call approving a move into an executive session under Idaho law at the end of the public workshop. City staff said they had sufficient direction to return to the county with contract redlines and reporting requests.

Ending: City Attorney Fonda Jovic and staff will bring revised contract language, clarified vehicle ownership options and a proposed monthly reporting menu back to council and the Public Safety Commission after negotiating the overhead and operational questions with the county and sheriff's office. A formal contract or vote was not taken at the workshop; the council moved into executive session on Idaho statutory grounds to discuss remaining matters.