Elgin to bring back police
NEWS
MyEagleNews.com
Wednesday, June 1, 2022
County Sheriff ’s Offi ce.
Bowen said there are many months
when Elgin receives more than the
420 hours it pays for. He said that
in April Elgin received 500 hours of
service and in March it received 499
hours. The extra hours were needed to
allow deputies to fi nish and follow up
on criminal cases.
“When the 420-hour mark is
reached they don’t just stop. They
have to keep on and close cases,” said
Bowen, who noted that his department
will have to lay off three deputies if
the Elgin contract is not renewed.
The sheriff said overtime has to
be paid to deputies when they work
extra hours, money that comes out of
the UCSO budget rather than being
passed on to the city of Elgin. He noted
that when Elgin starts its own police
department, it will be responsible for
paying police offi cers’ overtime.
By DICK MASON
The Observer
ELGIN — A major change on the
law enforcement front is looming in
Elgin.
The Elgin City Council voted on
Wednesday, May 18, not to renew
its contract with the Union County
Sheriff ’s Offi ce for enhanced law
enforcement services and plans to
add back its own police department,
one it disbanded about 10 years ago.
“We intend to have a police chief
hired by July 1,” said Brock Eck-
stein, Elgin’s city administrator.
The police chief would come on
board after the contract the city of
Elgin has with the Union County
Sheriff ’s Offi ce expires at the end of
June. Elgin, under the terms of its
current contract, is presently receiv-
ing 420 hours of enhanced law
enforcement services per month from
the Union County Sheriff ’s Offi ce.
Much of this is in the form of reg-
ular patrols by deputies. Without a
contract for enhanced services Elgin
would receive periodic patrols from
Union County Sheriff ’s deputies but
signifi cantly less service than it does
now.
Eckstein said the city council
voted not to renew its contract with
the Union County Sheriff ’s Offi ce
because state regulations are prevent-
ing it from serving the city as well as
it could. One reason, he said, is that a
county agency cannot cite people on
charges of violating city ordinances.
For example, Eckstein said the
sheriff ’s offi ce cannot enforce a city
ordinance such as one addressing
the use of motorcycles and all ter-
rain vehicles in town. He said there
are times when people ride motor-
cycles in town that lack mirrors
and turn signals required by a city
ordinance. Sheriff ’s deputies, how-
ever, are unable to cite these motor-
cyclists for ordinance violations
because they are not with the city of
Elgin.
Eckstein said that when Elgin has
its own police department, its offi -
cers will be able to cite such motor-
cyclists and all people violating city
ordinances. He said the city council’s
decision does not refl ect dissatisfac-
tion with the quality of work the dep-
uties are doing.
“We have received very good ser-
vice,” Eckstein said.
Dick Mason/The Observer
Deputy Morris Capers, with the Union County Sheriff ’s Offi ce, checks out the Elgin Stampede Grounds during his patrol
on Friday, May 20, 2022.
Dick Mason//The Observer
Morris Capers, a Union County sheriff ’s deputy, makes a call on his radio on
Friday, May 20, 2022, while on patrol in Elgin.
Mayor supports the move
Elgin’s mayor, Risa Hallgarth,
supports the step the city of Elgin is
taking.
“I think it is a very positive move,”
Hallgarth said.
Like Eckstein, she said the sher-
iff ’s offi ce is doing a good job but she
believes it is time to make a change.
“We like the deputies we had and
we appreciate the job they did, but it is
time to move on,” Hallgarth said.
The mayor added she believes Eck-
stein will do well with the budget-
ing work needed to start a new police
department. She credits Eckstein with
being good at things like landing grants
for the city.
Union County Sheriff Cody Bowen
said that while his deputies are unable
to cite people on charges of violating
city ordinances because they are with
a county agency, the deputies can often
enforce such violations indirectly since
in many cases people violating ordi-
nances also are breaking state laws.
He noted that underage youths riding
motorcycles in town without a helmet,
mirrors and signal lights are also violat-
ing state laws that can be enforced by
deputies.
Bowen said that over the past two
years his offi ce has received just two
complaints about people riding motor-
cycles or ATVs in Elgin that are in vio-
lation of the city’s code.
He said one of the instances in
which county deputies cannot enforce
city ordinances via state laws is when
the issue involves animal control. He
said because Elgin has an animal con-
trol ordinance, deputies cannot enforce
the county’s ordinance.
“A city ordinance trumps a county
ordinance,” Bowen
said.
This means that
when a dog is at large,
the city of Elgin’s
ordinance
offi cer
must handle the case.
Hallgarth
Dog bites are the
only animal control
issues sheriff ’s dep-
uties can handle in
Elgin, Bowen said.
He noted though
that previously when
the city of Elgin did
not have an ordi-
Bowen
nance offi cer for two
months, arrangements were made for
the deputies to assist with enforcing
Elgin’s animal control ordinance.
The sheriff ’s concerns
This is one reason Bowen believes
that if Elgin does create its own police
department, it would end up paying
considerably more for law enforce-
ment than it does now. He said
start-up costs including the purchase
of vehicles, uniforms and equipment
plus annual liability insurance and dis-
patch center fees would also balloon
the city’s law enforcement budget.
Finding people willing to serve as
offi cers is another hurdle the city of
Elgin would face.
“Nobody wants to get into law
enforcement now,” Bowen said.
He believes it will be diffi cult to
recruit people certifi ed to work in law
enforcement or individuals now work-
ing in the fi eld who would be willing
to come to Union County.
Bowen noted that one county in
Eastern Oregon is so desperate to fi nd
deputies that it is off ering $10,000 hir-
ing bonuses but is still having a diffi -
cult time getting applicants.
The sheriff also said another draw-
back Elgin would face if it starts its
own police department is that it will
no longer receive the same level of
help from the Union County Sheriff ’s
Offi ce.
“It will have to shoulder every-
thing,” Bowen said.
Not surprisingly, the sheriff does
not believe the Elgin City Council is
making a wise decision.
“I do not think that it will be in the
best interest of Elgin,” Bowen said.
A one-year freeze
The contract set to expire at the end
of June is a one-year $343,000 pact.
This is the same as what Elgin paid for
enhanced law enforcement services in
2020-21. Bowen said he agreed to the
freeze to help Elgin with budget issues
it was experiencing in part because of
the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bowen said the contract the sher-
iff ’s offi ce off ered this spring was
a three-year pact that would charge
Elgin about $348,000 in 2022-23,
$358,000 in 2023-24 and $368,000 in
2024-25.
Elgin would again receive 420
hours of enhanced law enforce-
ment services each month under the
terms of the contract if the city coun-
cil changed direction and decided to
renew its contract with the Union
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