Discussions about how much the city of Hayden should pay for law enforcement services provided by the sheriff’s office are ongoing as the expiration date for the current contract approaches. 

Because Hayden does not have its own police force, the city contracts with Kootenai County for law enforcement services. The contract for those services is set to expire Sept. 30. 

“For the most part, this contract system has worked for the city,” said a news release published Monday by the city of Hayden. “But, as with all things, there are things that work seamlessly and some require attention and adaptation over time.” 

The contract has been a point of contention in recent months, with some city leaders concerned about rising costs and some county leaders asserting that Hayden is paying less than the value of the services it receives. 

“My longstanding belief on this is that the cities should start paying for the services they’re getting and they know they’ve been getting a fantastic deal for years and years and years,” Commissioner Bruce Mattare said during a Tuesday meeting.

During the Aug. 27 public hearing for the county’s budget, Mattare said the county and city had not mutually agreed on the terms of a new contract. 

Hayden had budgeted a little more than $1 million for law enforcement services in the city, while the county had anticipated and budgeted roughly $1.3 million. Commissioners ultimately moved the $1.3 million to the sheriff’s patrol budget. 

Money from the county’s savings will be used to replace the $1.3 million included in the county’s published budget. If the county enters into a new contract with Hayden, the revenue from that contract will replace those funds. 

Hayden leaders met Aug. 29 in executive session to discuss the contract. 

“The city has worked hard to create an open dialog with our community partners, and going forward, our commitment is unwavering,” the city said in a news release Tuesday. “We look forward to bringing forward a plan that is representative of the community needs and desires.” 

Mattare said the county ought to create a boilerplate contract for law enforcement services so agreements with different cities are all the same, except for line items for specific services and costs. 

“We should have a rate that is set by the auditing department and the sheriff’s office should negotiate the levels of service based on how much cities want to pay,” he said Tuesday. 

City and county leaders have long discussed creating a formula for law enforcement funding. Commissioner Leslie Duncan said a lack of data has, historically, made it difficult to calculate the real cost of law enforcement services for cities. 

“We have to have measurables on the back end and, until recently, we haven’t been able to go in-depth,” she said. “My understanding is we’re working on getting in-depth stats.” 

County attorney Darrin Murphey said the county would benefit from creating a boilerplate contract for law enforcement services. 

“We have contracts that just don’t look the same and they have already created at least one problem with one city,” Murphey said. “The county really needs to stop doing that.”