City council discusses unified law enforcement

WILLIAMSBURG — In an effort to cover the increasing costs of law enforcement, Iowa County is considering creating a unified law enforcement district which will allow the county to levy taxes to pay for the service.

The Williamsburg City Council and Williamsburg Police Chief Justin Parsons discussed the plan during Monday’s council meeting.

“In theory it sounds like a decent idea,” said Williamsburg Mayor Adam Grier. It could alleviate some of Williamsburg’s law enforcement challenges.

But Councilman Tyler Marshall wondered how a unified district would not raise the cost.

Right now, smaller towns in the county that can’t afford their own police departments contract with the county for service. But the amount these towns are paying for service don’t cover the cost, and the county has been paying the difference.

That means residents in unincorporated areas are paying for law enforcement for towns, Parsons explained.

County supervisors asked Iowa County Sheriff Rob Rotter to calculate an accurate cost of services to towns in the county. Rotter figured the cost of one deputy, one car and the equipment in it. The total came to $158,000.

But some towns can’t afford to continue paying the few thousand they have already agreed to, partly due to the State’s rollback for property taxes.

“Everybody want a tax cut,” said Williamsburg City Attorney Eric Tindal, “but no one talks about service cuts.”

The State government in Des Moines is out of touch with what services cost, Tindal said.

State law allows counties and cities to share law enforcement through 28E agreements that create a law enforcement district governed by a board with representatives from each participating town. The advantage is that the county can then levy for additional tax dollars to cover expenses the towns and counties can’t cover.

“We can either choose to be in it or not to be in it,” said Parsons, but as the largest town in the county with the largest police budget, Williamsburg would contribute the most to a unified district, about $800,000, if it joins.

The county could levy up to $1.5 per $1,000 of assessed value of a property for law enforcement. Parsons said that supervisors estimated a budget of $3.2 million for a countywide law enforcement system.

There might be some startup costs, said Parsons, and personnel and equipment would be redistributed.

“There are going to be fewer officers covering [the same area],” said Tindall, but unifying law enforcement opens up a way to get more money for the service.

Williamsburg needs to decide early if it wants to join the unified district, said Tindal. That will give the city some say in how the district and its board are structured.

“Generally, 28Es are flexible,” Tindal said. “You can draft a lot of provisions in them that are flexible.”

“You want to start thinking about this now before it’s an emergency,” said Tindal. “The service and coverage you have today cannot last.”

Grier said he thought Williamsburg might have to get rid of an officer. The council found money to keep everyone this budget year, but he can’t guarantee the same will be true next year.

Though discussion is in the early stages, Parsons said county supervisors want to put the levy on the ballot in November.

Councilman Dale Walter asked what happens if the district later disbands. Will Williamsburg get its equipment back?

According to Iowa Code, if voters decide to discontinue the levy and the district disbands, if the district will dispose of its assets and give to each town according to what they were paying during the final year.

Marshall said it sounds like the county is asking Williamsburg to cost up more money for less service.

“My understanding is you can’t afford the service you have,” said Tindal. “This is a way to get more money.”

Tindal suggested the city appoint a subcommittee to figure out what would be best for Williamsburg.