The new Keizer Police Fee Task Force spent its first meeting on Thursday, Sept. 25, outlining information it needs to consider funding needs for local police.
In a 45-minute session, three city councilors who comprise the task force said they want a deeper understanding of the operations of the Keizer Police Department. The group, created by the Keizer City Council in June, includes Councilors Dan Kohler, Kyle Juran and Shaney Starr, who is chair.
Councilor Lore Christopher proposed at the June 2 city council meeting that the city start addressing now the future of the police department. She said public safety is “the issue of our city council” and urged her fellow councilors to “get on it.”
She wanted a contingent of councilors to form the work group and start working “tomorrow.”
City Manager Adam Brown agreed with prioritizing work on police funding.
“It is the problem to solve,” he said.
The city has relied on a public safety fee since 2017 to cover some costs of the police agency. Most of the agency’s funding comes from local property taxes.
Starr noted that no one on the task force was on the council at that time.
She described riding along with police officers over the summer to learn more about the calls they handle. Starr said one takeaway was that a seemingly simple act such as a traffic stop can take quite a bit of an officer’s time.
Starr, Kohler and Juran asked Brown and Police Chief Andrew Copeland to prepare comparisons of Keizer’s police staffing with other communities and how property tax rates compare. They asked for details on police spending, calls for service and what each person does at the police department.
Juran said such information is needed to give citizens an understanding of current police staffing and what are agency needs. Kohler said he wanted to know how police employees view their support in Keizer.
Kohler noted that he frequently hears from residents that they have no capacity to pay more in taxes. He said the Keizer City Council will have to carefully justify any request to the community.
The task force is scheduled to meet next on Tuesday, Oct. 28.
In June, the council considered increasing the police fee from $6.90 a month to $7.76 a month. The fee is billed monthly to households and businesses with breaks for apartments and low-income and senior residents.
The council, though, delayed formal approval until November, waiting for new budget information.
The fee increase was to take effect in January, coming halfway through the city’s current budget year. The fee hike would have raised about $90,000 for a police agency budget of about $10 million.
Christopher’s proposal last June said any proposed fee increase should go to voters next year.
Contact Editor Les Zaitz: [email protected]
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