NE Valley Times

The Fountain Hills City Council discussed the impending end of its contract with the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office for police protection services during the council's May 16 meeting.

Fountain Hills has partnered with Maricopa County on police services since 2012 when the city and county signed a five-year contract, with the option to extend on a yearly basis for the next five-years. The latest agreement between the city and the sheriff's office expires June 30, and a new agreement is unlikely by the July 1 deadline, so the council has been in negotiations with the sheriff's office to extend the agreement on a per-month basis until a new arrangement is made.

"I'm going to support this, but I do want to make it public," Trustee David Spelich said, adding that when the deal is renewed, he hoped the number of officers won't be affected. "I prefer, when we do actually have a renewal, is that we have 19 officers plus the [school resource officer]. I think it's unwise to reduce our coverage."

Some members of council believed that the $5.5 million the city paid for a one-year extension was an overpayment for the services the city received. Spelich cited his own experience in law enforcement, including with the Chicago Police Department. Spelich said that while he supported local officers, he sometimes disagreed with some of the "higher-ups in the department" who routinely ask for more money.

Two separate auditing firms have been hired to review the services provided by Maricopa County. Matrix Consulting and Heinfeld, Meech & Co. were brought in to review, but the results of their audits aren't timely enough to allow for negotiations to reach an end before by June 30.

The council voted to approve a month-to-month plan for the next six months, ending Dec. 31, to allow the two sides to reach a long-term agreement.