By GARRET JAROS/YachatsNews
Whether Yachats will have a dedicated Lincoln County Sheriff’s deputy in the upcoming year – tied to Waldport receiving a significant discount if it continues with its two-deputy contract – remains an open question.
Lincoln County commissioners, who must approve any agreement, deferred making a decision at their Wednesday meeting after listening to a presentation by Sheriff Curtis Landers, who supports a joint contract.
Commissioners want county attorneys to review the proposed contract and have its budget committee work with Landers to crunch the numbers on exactly how much discounting some cost of the three deputies – two in Waldport and one in Yachats — will affect the general fund. The sheriff’s office will absorb that cost for the first year, if there’s an agreement.
Commissioners were uncertain of the discounted amount because Landers estimated it to be $72,000 or less while county administrator Tim Johnson estimated it at $98,000. Landers chalked up the disparity as dependent upon everything from uniforms to indirect costs and services the sheriff’s office is responsible for providing regardless of whether Waldport or Yachats have contract deputies.
If an agreement is reached, Yachats would pay $150,000 and Waldport $300,000. If no agreement is reached and the Waldport city council votes to continue with its two-deputy contract, it will be asked to pay $384,000. That reflects a 9 percent increase over the current contract of $367,000 while also subtracting some overlapping charges.
The cost of providing one deputy for a year is $136,000. Added to that is a fleet fee of $15,000 which covers the vehicle, fuel and maintenance for a total of $151,000.
Because the contracts run from July 1 through June 30, 2025, commissioners plan to make a final decision at their June 26 meeting so Waldport’s city council can move forward with either an individual or joint contract by the end of the month.
Yachats would also receive a discount for its first year because the sheriff’s department is short-staffed and will not have a deputy available until August or September. In addition, because Yachats is only committing to a deputy on a one-year trail basis in part to see if it can secure longer-term funding, the county is waving a $64,000 startup charge.
Commissioners made clear Wednesday that the fee would be assessed if Yachats enters into a second-year contract.
Rural district is preferred
While Landers supports adding a third deputy to south county by way of a dedicated Yachats officer, he told commissioners it is not his first choice.
“I’ve always thought at some point we would need to go back to the voters to see if they wanted to support a rural-enhanced law enforcement district for rural areas,” he said.
A proposed levy in 2017 that would have added more deputies but lots of other sheriff’s staff failed at the ballot box. But it was much different than establishing a rural law enforcement district, Landers said.
In the meantime, the contract deputy model is covering gaps.
“Basically if Yachats comes on board, all of our cities outside the ones that have police departments will have contracts with the county to provide sheriff’s office coverage in those areas,” Landers said. “Having those contracts is definitely beneficial, but I don’t see it as the best way to do it … I think the best way to provide that service is to have a rural law enforcement taxing district to drop the boundaries on those areas.
“One of the significant challenges that we face is – when that contract person is working in one of those areas and something comes up outside, we struggle with should they go, should they not go? And that can be a challenge for the deputy at times. Obviously if it’s an emergency situation they’re going to go.”
After the meeting, Landers told YachatsNews that he thought it went well with commissioners and it just remains to be seen what the budget committee settles on as an overall cost the county would pay if a three-deputy formula between Waldport and Yachats were to continue beyond one year.
Landers also explained why he thinks it is good for Yachats — beyond the concerns expressed by Yachats officials about speeding on U.S. Highway 101 and code enforcement involving homeless camping on city property.
“In a nutshell, it adds a deputy,” Landers said. “It provides service in Yachats. It reduces our response times, specifically in Yachats compared to other areas that have contracts. It drops the boundaries a little bit to where we can provide more flexible services to all areas of south county, not just in the cities.”
It is also good for the sheriff’s office because it adds a deputy to its staff, he added.
Waldport Mayor Greg Holland, who attended the meeting in person, had planned to make a comment but said he would hold off until a final decision is made. Waldport city manager Dann Cutter, who attended remotely, emailed a statement to the YachatsNews.
“I was pleased to see the board move this issue forward to their next meeting,” Cutter said. “Though some questions regarding the costs remain, I am sure they will be answered satisfactorily, as they are mostly sunk costs the county will face regardless of the proposal.”
If commissioners approve the agreement, it will go back to the Waldport and Yachats city councils for final approval.
- Garret Jaros is YachatsNews’ full-time reporter and can be reached at GJaros@YachatsNews.com