4/22/14 - A new set rate for the cost of dedicated Sheriffâs Department patrols should clarify contracts with local municipalities. Sheriffâs deputies have been contracted out to local municipalities for dedicated patrols for decades, and historically this has required the townships or cities receiving the increased protection to pay the full cost. More recently, the county has been covering about 38% of that cost as an incentive, but costs are changing and that large of a subsidy is becoming expensive. Last night, the countyâs Public Safety and Infrastructure & Development Committee gave its approval to a fee schedule that reduces the subsidy to 25%. At a real annual cost of about $124,000, a single deputy providing eight hours of protection per day would cost a municipality about $93,000 per year. Currently only Putnam and Tyrone townships contract for dedicated patrols from the sheriffâs department, and the new subsidy rate will kick in when the municipalities renew their contracts. This is especially important for Tyrone, which is working on a ballot proposal to renew its police and fire assessment and must know how much a contract for coverage will cost. Undersheriff Mike Murphy says not all counties are willing to subsidize this service in the interest of public safety, and that it speaks well to Livingston to do so. (TD)
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