By Vince Lovato, Lake Chelan Mirror Editor
Chelan, Wash. — Chelan County Commissioners sent a letter notifying the city of Chelan that the entities have a year to renegotiate their law enforcement contract to include an estimated $120,000 to pay for dispatch services.

Chelan officials believe the contract includes dispatch services but commissioners say it was an oversight that needs to be corrected.

“I’m disappointed with the way the commissioners handled this,” said Chelan City Councilman Guy Harper. “We negotiated for an extra deputy (about a year ago) and they could have done it then.”

Harper was on the council when the city contracted with the Chelan County Sheriff’s Department.

“We phased out our local Police Department in 2003,” Harper said. “Municipalities can’t afford to go back to (police departments).”

Despite their complaints and concerns, Harper and Mayor Bob Goedde are bracing for impact.

“It will be resolved but it will be a struggle,” Harper said. “It’s always been an inclusive part of the contract.”

Goedde said the new agreement would cost the city about $120,000 the first year based on a per-call charge of $38 and the annual average number of about 3,100 calls in the city limits.

“What I would like to see done is find out where the calls are coming from but I don’t know if we can do that,” Goedde said. “But we better be ready because I don’t think we can get out of this.”

The county sent the same letter to the cities of Cashmere and Leavenworth.

“Each city has its own contract,” said Harper who was a reserve deputy in the 1980s. “I have no complaint with the Sheriff’s Department. Their services have been very good.”

Chelan County Third District Commissioner Doug England said the letters were just the first step in the year-long process and is part of the contract that allows either agency to make changes.

“I understand their complaint and if I was in their seat, I’d have the same argument,” said England, whose district covers the unincorporated areas in and around Chelan, Manson and north of Wenatchee.

The original contract set aside about $1,000 for communications, England said. That covered incidental costs like cell phones and two-way radios. But when the Rivercom dispatch center opened, response calls started going through the 9-1-1 system and the cities closed their dispatch centers, he said.

“So that figure ($1,000) is lumped into what we pay for county calls,” England said.

But the 9-1-1 commission opted not to charge individual cities for calls, he said.

“So those costs are not being covered and they have to start paying for that,” he said. “They say that’s been included but in our view they should have been charged since 2004.”

Each year the county picked up a tab of about $200,000 for all dispatch calls in the contract cities. Chelan’s cost was about $100,000 in 2009, England said.

“This letter is the first step and neither side wants this to happen,” he said. “We can argue all day long about who’s right and who’s wrong but that money comes out of the general fund.”

When the Chelan signed the first contract, the county sent the city a rebate on pro-rated dispatch charges, England said.

“It was overlooked but now we are going to have to charge them and I’m going to have to decide if this is a fair rate,” he said.

About the Author
Contact Vince Lovato at [email protected] or 509/682-2213.

Posted with permission of the Lake Chelan Mirror.