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NORTH SALT LAKE — The city councils of three Davis County cities met Tuesday night to discuss the possibility of combining their police departments into one.
For the past couple of months, the chiefs of the Woods Cross, North Salt Lake and West Bountiful police departments have discussed the possibility of becoming one.
The ultimate decision will be up to the city councils, said North Salt Lake Police Chief Craig Black. Tuesday night's meeting was only a work-study session. No decision was expected to be made.
The biggest advantage of combining the three departments into one would be a consolidation of police services, Black said.
"It allows for us to diversify and specialize," he said. Officers will be able to concentrate in specific areas of policing and gain expertise that ultimately will allow them to be able to serve the communities better, Black said.
Currently, none of the three departments has specialty officers, he said. They all do a little of everything. North Salt Lake has 17 officers, Woods Cross has 12 and West Bountiful has 10. All three cities, Black said, are experiencing significant growth, both commercial and residential.
The merger would also help correct a lack of consistent supervision of officers, said West Bountiful Police Chief Randy Lloyd. Lloyd also said officers would be asked less often to take shifts for officers who are taking time off.
On the flip side, Black said, "A lot of times a city's identity is closely associated with its police department."
Those who oppose combining into one department may feel that they are losing control of their city's law enforcement agency, Black said.
Council members discussed several other concerns with the proposed merger. West Bountiful Councilwomen Valerie Shaw said the assets the three departments would contribute to the combined department might not be the same quality and quantity.
The departments could also have differing wages and benefits for officers, Shaw added.
Questions of seniority and administrative authority were also raised.
West Bountiful City Administrator Craig Howe said those concerns will be discussed in the coming months, but that existing employees would assume administrative responsibilities.
North Salt Lake has 17 officers, Woods Cross has 12 and West Bountiful has 10. All three cities, Black said, are experiencing significant growth, both commercial and residential.
"Police departments are inevitably going to need more manpower," he said.
If the idea of combining police departments becomes a reality, Black said it won't take effect until the end of the current fiscal year, July 1. Another joint meeting has not been scheduled between the city councils.
Cities in Utah, Salt Lake and Cache counties have combined police forces.
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Story written by Pat Reavy, with contributions from Alex Cabrero and Nkoyo Iyamba.
