Letter regarding changes to Law enforcement in the City of Elgin

By on Friday, June 10th, 2022 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News

ELGIN – Recently there has been conversations regarding law enforcement in the City of Elgin.  At a recent City Council meeting the decision was made to end the contract with the Union County Sheriff’s Office in favor of the City of Elgin starting their own Police Force.  

This week Union County Sheriff Cody Bowen issued a letter to the Citizens of Elgin regarding this situation and City Administrator for the City of Elgin Brock Eckstein issued a statement as well.  Both of those can be found below in their entirety. 

The following is the letter issued by Sheriff Bowen

“Citizens of Elgin Oregon,

I would like to take a moment and answer some questions that have been presented lately in regards to the Union County Law Enforcement/City of Elgin Contract. 

The original contract to provide law enforcement services was reached with former Elgin Council Members and the former Elgin Mayor approximately ten years ago. This contract came about as a result of the dissolution of the former Elgin City Police Department.

As some of you may remember, the city faced many struggles with maintaining its own police department. Problems such as personnel, proper training, up to date equipment and funding plagued the department. Some of you may recall when the officers were tasked with enforcing city ordinances, the divide and frustration that arose. I mention these things because I believe when we forget our history or choose to ignore our history, we are bound to repeat it. 

Recently Mayor Halgarth and some council members have chosen to end the contract with Union County Sheriff’s Office to pursue resurrecting their own police department again. The idea of an Elgin Police Department was first brought to my attention over a year ago. At the end of the contract year 2020/2021 the council told me they could not afford the annual increase to the contract that had been in place. I told the Mayor and council I would freeze the contract price for the 2021 year with the idea this would give them another year to plan ahead and budget accordingly for the renewal in 2022. 

Flash forward to February 2022. I attended a council meeting with the intention of bringing to the table the renewal of the Elgin contract. Upon presentation of the new contract the council advised me they still could not afford the price tag for the law enforcement services. I then adjusted the proposed contract considerably removing any costs that I could in order to continue the services that Elgin had been accustom to. When I say services, I’m referring to the 420 hours of monthly coverage provided by three full time Deputies. 

After the council had concluded all budget meetings, without including me on any of them, I returned to the council with the revised, less expensive proposal. At that time I was met with complaints about the service Elgin had been receiving. Complaints from Mayor Halgarth about illegal ATV use within the city and truck drivers violating a truck route. I advised that my office had received only two ATV complaints in the last two years and very few, if any, complaints about trucks. Mayor Halgarth also stated that over the last few years they were not seeing an adequate amount of tickets being written for violations. I explained that we prefer to correct poor driving behaviors by education or verbal warnings and citations as a last result, if needed.  Mayor Halgarth stated she would prefer citations to be issued as it is a good source of revenue and helps fund the budget. I told her I would not require mandatory ticket quotas and I would leave it up to my deputies’ discretion. Mayor Halgarth did not like that answer. 

Mayor Halgarth expressed dissatisfaction when she learned that my deputies could not enforce 

Elgin City Ordinances. I suggested they drop the city ordinances that they were concerned with and such violations would fall back on county ordinances that we could enforce. That idea was rejected because it would cut into alleged revenue.                

After I presented a budget that was more than affordable it was still countered by dissatisfaction from some council members and Mayor Halgarth. Which told me it was never about the money in the first place. I soon realized the excuse of “we can’t afford it” was possibly a hiding place for personal agendas. 

What I have since discovered in recent weeks that I would like to bring to everyone’s attention. No matter how inexpensive the contract is, Mayor Halgarth and some council members will say they cannot afford it. Yet they are willing to spend twice as much to bring back their own police, that are under the direct control of the council and mayor. They have stated they have applied for grants to subsidize some of the costs. Assuming these grants are approved and received by the closing date of June 30th. What happens when they expire? Will you the tax payer be responsible for these additional costs? 

I would like to apologize to the citizens of Elgin for the upcoming frustration you will most certainly encounter with the decision made by Elgin City Council and Mayor Halgarth. As of July 1st 2022, the city of Elgin will no longer have dedicated patrol in the city limits from my deputies. What this means is that any call for help will fall on the shoulders and be the sole responsibility of the newly formed Elgin Police Department and its staff. If Elgin would like to develop a Memorandum of Understanding for cover units or assistance, they have yet to reach out to me. Please understand that by them canceling the Elgin Contract I have been forced to terminate three full time patrol positions that were dedicated to Elgin. With limited staffing I have directed my deputies to focus on areas that do not have municipal policing available. Towns such as Cove, Imbler, North Powder, Summerville, Starkey, Perry, Medical Springs and the surrounding areas within Union County. We will still provide the same amount of coverage to cities such as Island City and Union who have chosen to contract for additional services. 

Please understand by Oregon law my responsibilities as Sheriff are to provide jail services, civil services and Search and Rescue. Patrol services are an extra service that rely solely on available funding. When those services are deemed not necessary and funding is cut by council members and mayors the only people to suffer are the citizens.

No matter what misinformation has been circulated by Elgin City Council understand that Union County Sheriff’s Office will no longer provide a law enforcement presence and will no longer respond to calls for service within the city limits of Elgin as of July 1st 2022. When this attempt at local governmental control fails like it did in the past. I will be ready and willing to establish another contract to give you, the citizens of Elgin, the professional, transparent service you have been accustomed to for the last several years.                      

Sheriff Cody Bowen”

The following is a letter issued by City Administrator Eckstein

“This statement is not intended to defend the City of Elgin’s decision. After significant and careful consideration of data and citizen input, the City Council made the decision it felt was best to ensure the safety of our citizens.  This statement is also not meant as an attack on the Sheriff’s department and partnering agencies. The City of Elgin has — and always will — support the men and women that put their lives on the line for us each and every day. We have had numerous deputies serve our municipality diligently and with pride over the last decade and we all appreciate it greatly.

The Elgin City Council’s position is that Sheriff Bowen’s letter was unfortunate and did not fairly represent the facts or circumstances that lead to this decision. The Council operates as a team and makes decisions as a team, not as individuals. Singling out individual members of the Council because of questions they asked, and then misconstruing certain of their statements and questions to fit a narrative is highly inaccurate. This selective approach left out far more significant facts, and appears designed to shine a bad light on individual members of the Council, if not the City as a whole.  This approach is regrettable, as we all love this community, and an elected official taking this approach only causes damage to important relationships, which we all need to strengthen and rely upon.

The Council does not believe it appropriate for a county leader to use his influence to skew facts and circumstances in a manner that – whether intentional or inadvertent — creates a divide in local communities, and reinforces negative stereotypes and attitudes against one another.  Instead, as community leaders, we should be working to unite people in our towns and communities, not causing discord and discontent in them, especially in these trying times. Sheriff Bowen is a passionate leader and that passion is highly valued to many members of the community as he fights for our local rights on the state platform. The Elgin City Council hopes that, in the future, both organizations can come together and work these differences out in a manner that does not discredit either organization. 

City officials met with Sheriff Bowen regarding his letter prior to his releasing it and, sadly, communication broke down on both sides. Sheriff Bowen did express his concerns about reinstituting the Elgin Police Department, but he also pledged his support in any way that he could, regardless of his personal and professional feelings on the matter. The City Council, and the City’s future police force, look forward to working with the Union County Sheriff’s Department and re-igniting a partnership, which we are also pursuing with other agencies like the La Grande Police Department and Oregon State Police.

The City has sought, and received, the support and assistance of many other organizations — including the City of Enterprise and its police department, City of La Grande Police Department and Dispatch, the League of Oregon Cities, CIS (The City of Elgin’s insurance provider), and numerous experienced law enforcement members both active and retired – and we will continue to forge a cooperative network of individuals and organization that share our purpose to provide excellent public safety.  We are pleased and grateful for all those who have already begun assisting, or have pledged their support to assist with this transition. The City is not naïve in expecting a flawless transition; there will be bumps on the road and we ask for our citizens’ patience and grace during this transitional time. We again wish to thank Sheriff Cody Bowen and his entire law enforcement team for everything they have done to help make Elgin a better place, and we hope they continue to partner with us now and in the future.

One thing is certain – we are stronger when we work together.  Differences of opinion will always exist, but it is paramount that we behave toward one another with respect, and with an eye to fostering unity as we build on common ground.  We all live here and want what is best for our respective communities.  We pledge to continue to work together with our community partners toward that goal.

Respectfully,

Brock Eckstein

Pro Tem Administrator

City of Elgin

Elkhorn Media Group