A final agreement between La Center and the Clark County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) for police services will soon be presented to the City Council.
The city has been exploring options for staffing law enforcement for over a year. In July of last year, the City Council approved negotiations with the Cowlitz Indian Tribal Public Safety Department to assume law enforcement duties in La Center. However, negotiations broke down in January when the two parties could not agree on liability security for Cowlitz officers. On Feb. 28, the city entered a temporary agreement with CCSO, which provided La Center with a fill-in chief and two officers as a final agreement was drafted.
La Center Mayor Tom Strobehn confirmed at a July 25 City Council meeting that most of the details for a permanent deal with the CCSO have been finalized. Under the deal, one commander will serve as a full-time police chief and four deputies will provide full-time patrol, with one support specialist assigned to the station. Strobehn hopes this arrangement will help address the speeding issues on city roads.
“I signed a check two weeks ago, [and] I was watching the pricing going up for fines and court costs… which tells me that crime has never left La Center, it was just hidden and we didn’t have officer-initiated calls, and we have those now and we’re gonna continue to crack down on them,” Strobehn said during the meeting.
Last week, Strobehn explained that the interlocal agreement will provide La Center additional law enforcement services as needed. The city will have access to detectives and other specialized services, including K9 units, SWAT and bomb disposal teams, which would normally incur additional fees.
The agreement currently favored by Strobehn includes an upfront cost of $660,663.88 for 2024 services. The proposed deal for 2024-29 will total $5,332,506.99 over the five years, with a new agreement to be negotiated for 2030 onward. Last week, Chief Administrative Deputy Mike McCabe, who is involved in developing the interlocal agreement, stated that he expects La Center to be fully staffed by February of next year if the two parties reach an agreement.
“The mission of the Clark County Sheriff’s Office is to protect and safeguard our community. The sheriff’s office will provide the same protection to the City of La Center. We believe this partnership will benefit the citizens of La Center, and we are incredibly excited to partner with the city,” McCabe said in an email.
McCabe expects both parties to review and potentially approve the interlocal agreement by October. Until then, details regarding payments may change before the final arrangement is presented to Clark County Sheriff John Horch and the La Center City Council.
“I’m just excited,and can’t wait for us to get this agreement put in place so the officers can come up and see what a great city we have,” Strobehn said.
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