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Sheriff's lieutenant tells Mendon council citations and arrests are up; county proposes one-year contract and slight rate increase
Summary
Lieutenant Tim Ramirez briefed Mendon City Council on local patrol activity, reporting higher citation and arrest totals and outlining a proposed one-year contract that would raise the hourly county contract rate from $52.35 to $56, a roughly $986 annual cost increase to Mendon.
Lieutenant Tim Ramirez, patrol lieutenant for the Cache County Sheriff’s Office, told the Mendon City Council that proactive patrols have increased enforcement and that citations and certain arrests are up compared with the previous year. Ramirez said Mendon has recorded about 74 citations so far this year compared with 49 for the full previous year and that the increase in enforcement is the result of dedicated overtime speed-enforcement shifts funded in part by state grants.
The sheriff’s office is proposing a one-year contract with cities this year instead of a three-year deal, Ramirez said, while county finance and auditing changes settle. Ramirez told council the county intends to raise the hourly contract rate for Mendon from $52.35 to $56, which he estimated would add about $986 to Mendon’s annual contract cost.
Why it matters: Mendon relies on a contract with the county sheriff’s office for patrol coverage. Changes in the contract rate and the scope of directed enforcement affect the city’s budget and policing presence.
What Ramirez reported: Ramirez said countywide enforcement trends show higher enforcement activity: “total arrests are up 11 percent,” he said; “drug arrests are up about 90 percent” and “total citations are up about 40 percent,” citing the most recent countywide statistics he reviewed. He told council the sheriff’s office has directed more proactive patrols and speed-enforcement overtime to cities that have seen rising speeding and truck-traffic complaints.
Council members pressed Ramirez about truck traffic on local roads. Ramirez said some increases are tied to local industrial activity (he cited a processing plant expansion nearby) and to detours that shift truck volumes onto local routes; he urged residents and the council to document problem locations so deputies can target enforcement and offered overtime shifts to address problem times and locations such as Wayne’s Loop.
Ramirez also described challenges with enforcing trespass and signage on certain private lanes and suggested more-visible warning signage at forks and gates to support prosecutions. He said deputies would continue to prioritize calls for service and that Mendon is currently receiving well above its contracted patrol hours.
What the council directed: Council and staff and Ramirez agreed to pass documented complaints to the sheriff’s office so deputies can schedule targeted overtime enforcement in problem areas and to follow up on signage at Wayne’s Loop and other approaches. Ramirez said he would coordinate overtime assignments and follow up with the mayor and the recorder with the proposed contract materials the sheriff’s office has sent.
No formal vote or action to approve the sheriff contract was taken by the council at the meeting; the contract materials were left for council review.
