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Committee leans on public-safety fee as staffing and equipment pressures rise
Summary
Finance staff said the public-safety fee helps maintain reserves for police and fire equipment; public commenters and chiefs warned Sutherlin runs below national staffing benchmarks and faces vehicle and radio replacement costs.
Finance Director Tammy Trowbridge told the committee the public-safety fee was implemented to sustain public-safety reserve funds for equipment and to avoid transfers out of the general fund. "Once the public safety fee was implemented, I have made the plan based on what our ending fund balance was going to be to not have to transfer all of that over because that's what the public safety fee was for," she said.
Public commenter Michelle Sondor cited FBI staffing benchmarks and urged fuller staffing: "...the FBI recommendation of officers per thousand of 4.6 per 1,000...and last year Sutherlin officers...1.4 per thousand." Fire Chief Mike Lane and police leadership described equipment and vehicle needs: radios and in-car camera contracts have grown in cost, and vehicle replacement is projected within the next two years.
Committee members noted strong case-closure rates and five-minute response targets but acknowledged the city is operating with fewer officers and firefighters than national averages for comparable communities. Trowbridge warned that if the public-safety fee were repealed staff would immediately pursue contingency options, including a restructured fee or placing a measure on the ballot.
The committee approved the budget that retains the public-safety fee distribution into reserve accounts; staff will continue monitoring service levels and reserve balances.
