Davis County commissioner apologizes to Sunset leaders over dispatch decision, urges revisit

Mayor Scott Wiggill welcomed Davis County Commissioner John Crofts, who told the Sunset City Council on June 16 that he regretted not being more engaged in decisions about county dispatch services.

Crofts said the County initially proposed about a 30% tax increase, later reduced to 15%, and that he voted against the increase after hearing strong resident opposition. "I had voted against the tax increase due to strong opposition from residents who expressed that they were already struggling financially and could not absorb additional tax burdens," he said. Crofts said the County faced approximately a $12 million deficit that the reduced tax proposal lowered to about $6 million, and that a remaining shortfall was near $3 million.

Crofts described a costly feasibility study that recommended a centralized, countywide 911 dispatch center similar to models used elsewhere. According to Crofts, political disagreements and decisions by some cities led to a plan that will move remaining County dispatch operations to Layton once Layton completes its facility. "After Kaysville and Farmington left the County dispatch system, it became unsustainable for Davis County to continue operating its dispatch center," Crofts said, adding that the resulting arrangement would increase dispatch costs for cities such as Sunset.

Crofts said he abstained from the County Commission vote on the dispatch transfer because he had not been sufficiently involved in the process. "I should have been more involved in the process," he told the Council, and he apologized to Sunset's Mayor and Council for not engaging earlier. Crofts said he still believes a centralized countywide dispatch model would have been the best solution and that he was willing to revisit the issue depending on Commission support.

Council Member Katherine Hunter said from the perspective of smaller cities it felt like larger cities received greater consideration. "It was frustrating when larger cities appeared to receive greater consideration than communities such as Sunset," she said. Council Member Hope Thompson pressed Crofts to actively pursue legislative measures to address the increased costs; Crofts replied that future action would depend on the next Commission's leadership and majority support.

The visit closed with Crofts encouraging Sunset officials to contact him with further concerns. The Council did not take formal action on the dispatch matter during the meeting.