Perry City holds town hall on proposed one-year pilot to unify police with Tremonton and Garland

PERRY CITY — Perry City officials on Saturday held a town-hall meeting to solicit resident feedback on a proposed interlocal agreement that would unify the Perry City Police Department with the Tremonton and Garland police departments for a one-year pilot aimed at improving staffing and access to specialized units.

Chief Hancey of the Perry City Police Department told residents that rising call volumes and personnel costs have strained Perry’s small force and that the pilot would let the cities measure service levels, response times, detective caseloads clearance rates, sick leave, injuries and turnover before any permanent decision. “It costs very conservatively about $130,000 per year per officer, for wages, insurance, vehicles, gas,” Hancey said, and added the pilot would allow Perry to access SWAT, K-9 and expanded investigative capacity that the city’s nine-officer department cannot sustain alone.

Why it matters: Supporters say the merger would increase Perry’s minimum night shift staffing from one officer to two and expand the pool of investigators and specialty units available to the community. Opponents and some residents pressed elected officials on whether the plan truly increases on-the-ground coverage without additional hiring, whether Perry will retain its community-oriented policing culture and who would control long-term decisions.

Key details and finance: Hancey said the draft interlocal calls for adopting Tremonton’s pay scale; the council and staff described a single figure — about $98,000 — as the total additional amount needed to bring Perry’s current nine-officer payroll to that pay scale (not a per-officer raise). Hancey contrasted that with the estimated cost of hiring two additional Perry officers (about $260,000 per year). “So we’ll be switching to a population-based metric — one officer per 750 residents — to determine staffing,” Hancey said, while stressing the pilot is designed to be reversible if it does not meet Perry’s needs.

Residents’ concerns and exchanges: Teachers and parents asked whether the consolidation would preserve the visible school presence they value. Heidi Murdock, a 3 Mile Creek teacher, said a slide implied a school resource officer benefit but that the district’s funding model means a dedicated elementary school officer is not guaranteed; Hancey responded that the merger primarily provides access to the expertise and training of resource officers rather than a guaranteed district-funded officer. Several residents also questioned whether two understaffed departments combined would still require hiring to meet coverage goals; both chiefs and council members explained that the interlocal is meant to combine resources and give cities time to plan staffing growth, but that each city would remain responsible for its own staffing shortfalls.

Governance and safeguards: Chief Cordova of Tremonton said the interlocal would include representation — a police board of elected representatives — and contractual language tying staffing responsibilities to each participating city to avoid one city subsidizing another’s deficits. Cordova and council members emphasized that the proposed arrangement would be tested for about a year and that councils would receive periodic reports during the pilot.

What wasn’t decided: No council vote on the unification took place at the meeting. The only formal action was a routine motion to adjourn at the end of the public comment period, which passed by voice vote.

What’s next: Council members asked chiefs for follow-up materials, including a staffing/manning flowchart and more granular cost breakdowns. Officials said they will provide more detailed fiscal estimates and a timeline for council deliberations before any interlocal agreement would be executed.