Provo chief seeks minor MOU changes, flags $9,151 increase for Utah County Major Crimes Task Force

Provo Police Chief Troy Beebe asked the Provo Municipal Council on Dec. 3 to approve an amendment to the interlocal cooperation agreement that governs the Utah County Major Crimes Task Force and flagged a modest budget increase for the city.

Beebe said the task force, a multi‑agency unit focused on drug‑trafficking organizations, has removed substantial quantities of illicit drugs from the region. “We’ve seized 250 pounds of methamphetamine, 62 pounds of heroin, and a considerable amount of fentanyl,” Beebe said, describing the unit as key to public safety and efforts to reduce theft and other crime tied to addiction.

Beebe told the council the task force is funded through a combination of a grant and proportional city contributions based on population. He said inflation produced a $9,151.40 increase in Provo’s share for the current year and that, because prior years used personnel‑overage funds to absorb such rises, the department will request a budget adjustment.

The amendment proposed two substantive changes to the task‑force memorandum of understanding: extend the agreement term by five years to 2029, and add a requirement that parties be notified within two weeks before settling claims so that multi‑agency insurance coordination can occur. Beebe said the insurance language came after incidents involving other agencies and that Utah County attorneys had coordinated on the amendment.

Councilors asked whether Orem’s role as the financial and accounting hub represented a change; Beebe said it did not and that Orem has long hosted the director and certain administrative functions. The city’s legal representative told the council the edits were minor and consistent with an existing agreement.

No formal council vote on the amendment was recorded in the meeting transcript provided; Beebe indicated he would return as needed when the formal budget request is prepared.