Public Safety in Vineyard
In the few weeks I've been running for city council, I've had a chance to meet many people and hear their concerns and visions for the city. Several brought up public safety, and I've seen it mentioned here a handful of times, so I'm writing a brief post and sharing what I've learned. Hopefully, it will be helpful!
Last week, I sat down with fire and police officials from Vineyard, Provo, and Utah County. I got a lot of clarity to my questions meeting with them. Each shared that we are better served now and for the foreseeable future with the current contracts. What I found interesting was officers and fire professionals from other cities who live in Vineyard also shared this view of the services here.
The police officers contracted through the Utah County Sheriff's Department are assigned to Vineyard and only Vineyard. They are Vineyard's dedicated law enforcement with offices in the city.
When needed, we draw additional resources from the Sheriff's Department that don't come out of pocket through full-time hiring but rather on a contract basis as required. For instance, Vineyard has one full-time detective but can access additional detectives as needed. If we as a city were to invest in our own police department, we would be paying substantially more for, at best, the same level of service. There's a real chance the service quality would dip because of the financial burden placed on the city.
A similar story was shared regarding the fire department. The difference here is that we need (and are actively getting) a fire station. This Vineyard substation would have firefighters there 24/7 who could respond quickly to fires/emergencies. Right now, they are across the street from Vineyard, but this new location will provide better resources and response times. Similarly to the sheriff's office, firefighters whose chief is in Orem would be assigned to Vineyard and held by contract to provide services here.
Like our police situation, Vineyard has access to resources and engines/ambulances that a Vineyard fire department wouldn't have reasonable justification to keep on its own. Given the size of Vineyard, our fire department would be small, probably only one engine, and if we had two fires at the same time, we would have to rely on other cities.
They shared a lot more, and I was grateful for the time they took. I am happy to share more with anyone who wants to learn more about the current public safety contracts! Or feel free to visit directly with them!
