PC Sheriff Addresses Mill Levy Questions

Greetings my fellow Phillips County citizens,

I've been asked various questions regarding the public safety mill levy and the common themes are, "What am I getting for my money'?", and, "I never see a patrol vehicle drive by my residence. Why is this?"

The answer to the first question is simple. Your public safety mill levy dollars pay for a dispatcher, sitting in a chair, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 52 weeks a year, awaiting your emergency or non-emergency phone call.

The money also pays for the equipment (i.e. phone systems, radio systems) to ensure that the dispatcher can get the right response for your emergency, whether it be ambulance personnel, fire personnel, or Sheriff's Office personnel. The public safety mill levy also pays for the Sheriff's Office personnel, equipment, and inmate expenses (holding long-term inmates at other detention centers), among other things.

You may not like the answer to the second question but here it is, nonetheless. In order for vour Sheriff's Office to cover the 5200+ square miles this county encompasses in the manner in which you are requesting (i.e. a patrol vehicle driving by my residence on a regular basis), we would be talking about a lot more deputies. When the City of Malta and the County consolidated law enforcement services, a study was conducted by the Montana Board of Crime Control. Among other things, the study concluded there should be a cost-sharing between the County and City of Malta of 57%-43%, respectively. Last year I approached the City of Malta Council and County Commissioners and renegotiated the contract to increase the amount the City of Malta is paying for law enforcement services. We're getting closer to the correct sharing factor but it is still a ways off. The study also recommended a law enforcement officer force with a minimum of nine officers. We currently have five. In the 20-plus years I've worked here, we've never had more than seven total including the Sheriff and Undersheriff.

You might ask, "How busy is dispatch or the deputies?". As of the writing of this letter, dispatch has received and dispatched appropriate personnel to 2,858 calls for services scattered over the entirety of Phillips County. These calls range from livestock on the highway to domestic situations, burglaries, sexual assaults, physical assaults, criminal mischief, trespass to property, theft, and everything in between. These calls for service have generated a total of 204 cases. The time spent by deputies investigating those cases is immeasurable and dependent upon the type of crime investigated. With the limited number of deputies, this causes a limited amount of time for patrol.

We may respectfully agree to disagree on the public safety mill levy and still be friends, but the frank point is this: the public safety mill levy finances way more than just the Sheriff's Office. Most importantly, it finances the public safety answering point (dispatch), which is essential for every citizen and visitor in the county. This is unfortunate but the truth is that the cost of doing business has done nothing but increase over the years, especially the years since Covid. In contrast, the public safety mill levy has not increased since 2014 ($150,000/year).

I welcome these and any other questions regarding the public safety mill levy or the general operation of the Sheriff's Office.

Respectfully

Jerry Lytle

Sheriff