Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Police On Call topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Vernonia council votes to eliminate paid police on-call time amid budget shortfall
Summary
After hearing staff reports that paid on-call duty would push the police budget further out of balance, the Vernonia City Council directed the city administrator to remove paid on-call time from the police budget, citing insufficient funds and limited call-outs.
The Vernonia City Council voted to eliminate paid police on-call time at its May 4 meeting after staff and councilors concluded the city cannot afford the program going forward. Councilor Dale moved to "direct the city administrator to eliminate on call time out of the police budget," and the motion carried after council members voiced their support.
Staff told the council the police department has been called out 13 times since July of last year and that, as configured, there are 33 hours per week without on-site coverage; making those hours paid on-call would consume budget capacity the city does not have. The on-call practice previously included a minimum three-hour callout pay and a take-home vehicle for scheduled on-call supervisors under the existing handbook language, but the city administrator said the draft budget contains no money for continuing the arrangement. "If we don't have the money for on call, then we eliminate the on call," Police Sergeant Sean Carnahan said during the discussion.
Councilors discussed alternatives — including creative scheduling, asking the county to honor sheriff-contract payments and shifting on-call windows to lower-demand hours — but concluded that, absent new revenue or contract changes, the practical option was to stop paying on-call duty. The council recorded its motion as carried and directed staff to implement the change.
