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Police chief warns response times slipping; council weighs options including levy, grants or municipal department
Summary
Eagle's police chief reported emergency response times are "about 37 seconds slower" than target and urged funding options including grant pursuit, special levies or a substation; council discussed the long‑term cost of standing up a municipal department (previously estimated at $9–$12 million).
The police chief told the council the department missed its emergency‑response target: "we missed the mark on our emergency response times... we're about 37 seconds slower." He recommended several responses—creating a substation near the sports complex, pursuing grants that offset hiring and retention costs, and considering levy options for public safety—while cautioning about privacy and court‑process limits on what the department can disclose publicly.
Councilors pressed for transparent public communication about crime trends and asked staff to prepare a package that lists what the sheriff provides under the contract versus the city's unincorporated base response. Council discussed the previously estimated cost to start a city police department—"roughly 9 to $12,000,000 to start off a department"—and agreed to review detailed comparative numbers before pursuing that path.
