Ketchum city officials are considering public release of a proposal from Blaine County Sheriff Walt Femling to contract for police services in the city, but decided Thursday to hold off in light of new budget figures that city department heads have been asked to submit.
"I don't want to go to the public until I've got numbers I can believe in," said Ketchum Mayor Randy Hall.
Hall said local-option taxes are down about 22 percent this year and he has asked department heads to revise their budgets.
"I can't have accurate information until I've gone back and looked at the numbers, and frankly it just sucks," Hall said.
Hall said he intends to release Femling's proposal to the public prior to a Feb. 17 City Council meeting, when Femling is scheduled to make a public presentation.
According to Hall, the document presented by Femling is 15 to 20 pages long.
Femling met in private executive session with the council on Monday to present his proposal. The public is not allowed to participate in executive session meetings.
Councilman Baird Gourlay said after the meeting that Femling's proposal would retain all nine current Ketchum police officers. It was not clear if officers would retain their present ranks, or if salaries would change.
The idea of contracting police services to the sheriff's office surfaced last fall after former Police Chief Cory Lyman left the department for a job in Salt Lake City. Other options on the table are to offer the job to Ketchum Assistant Police Chief Mike McNeil, who is acting as interim chief, to advertise outside for candidates or to consolidate police services with Sun Valley.
Meanwhile, a comparison of salary structures for police agencies in the Wood River Valley shows that Ketchum has the lowest starting salary for patrol officers.
The minimum a patrol officer can receive in Ketchum is $16.53 per hour, compared to a minimum patrol officer wage with the sheriff's office of $18 per hour.
Hailey has the highest minimum patrol officer wage at $19 per hour. The minimum a patrol officer could receive in Sun Valley is $18.84.
Most patrol officers in the Wood River Valley have enough experience to be at higher wages than the minimum salaries. McNeil said all of Ketchum's patrol officers are earning more than the $16.53 per hour wage.
Terry Smith: tsmith@mtexpress.com
