The effects of Bellevue's diminutive budget go beyond streets in various states of disrepair.
Bellevue Marshal Tim Green announced at a City Council meeting on Thursday, August 9, that Deputy Pat Thueson was leaving the force before the end of the month, leaving only Green and one other deputy to handle the city's law enforcement.
While Green said he recently received two applications, which could potentially bring the force back up to full strength, he also expressed concern that retaining officers has become difficult, as they use Bellevue as a springboard to get training before moving to more lucrative positions in other towns. Within the past 18 months, two deputies have left Bellevue to go work for the Hailey Police Department.
Although Bellevue raised salaries of the Marshal's Office to be on par with Hailey less than two years ago, Bellevue's relatively meager benefits package has become a hindrance.
"We are one of the only cities in the state that's not on PERSI," said City Clerk Dee Barton, referring to the Public Employee Retirement System of Idaho.
Councilman Shaun Mahoney said the benefit of that system, while different from city to city, could play a large role in attracting and keeping personnel.
"We need to figure out our future," Mahoney said at Thursday's meeting. "We're not paying enough to keep our young officers and we need to get on PERSI."
And it's not only the Marshal's Office that suffers from negative comparisons to Bellevue's surrounding cities. While Hailey just approved an increase in the salaries of council members to $580 (and Ketchum is on the verge of raising its to $1,666), Bellevue Council members recently agreed to cut their salaries in half, to a meager $100 per month, in order to help balance next year's budget.
Bellevue Councilwoman Beth Robrahn exemplifies the dichotomy that exists between cities that are separated by a mere five miles. Robrahn was hired last month to replace Kathy Grotto as Hailey's planning and zoning administrator. Her new job brings with it a $62,500 salary plus health insurance, including dental, and a PERSI match of 10 percent, meaning that the city will contribute 10 percent of whatever she puts toward her retirement. Her counterpart in Bellevue, Craig Eckles, makes around $7,500, according to Barton, and that doesn't include health insurance. In addition, Robrahn has help from City Planner Diane Shay, while Eckles is in charge of everything in the Planning and Zoning Department, from issuing building permits to writing up the minutes from P&Z meetings.
"You can't budget for the person, you have to budget for the position," Eckles said during a public hearing in July regarding the upcoming fiscal year.
Eckles made it clear at the meeting that while he is not asking for more money, the council needs to think about how it will replace him if he leaves his position.
Unfortunately, there is no easy solution, as the city is about to approve a $1.2 million budget. Hailey's is approximately $10 million more.
While the $200,000 levy increase approved by voters in May shows that taxpayers are aware of the deficiencies, it might be some time before the city becomes a career destination rather than a training ground.
