Council OKs deal with county Sheriff for police protection

Libby City Councilors approved an agreement at Tuesday’s special meeting with the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office for payment of law enforcement services.

City Administrator Sam Sikes said the agreement had been sent to Undersheriff Brent Faulkner for review. County Commissioner Josh Letcher must sign it before it can take effect.

The memorandum includes 17 items that must be agreed to by the city and county. The proposal calls for the agreement to begin Wednesday, Feb. 1 and end June 30, unless the city notifies county Sheriff Darren Short that his department’s services are no longer needed. Both parties may agree to extend the agreement beyond June 30.

Also, county deputies working in the city will answer directly to the Sheriff and coordinate with the city police Sgt. Ron Buckner or a designated representative on a daily basis regarding issues that may arise. County Sheriff’s Office vehicles will be used and mileage will be provided to the city for reimbursement. The city will pay the Sheriff’s Office the deputy’s overtime rate and allowable benefits for overtime hours.

Sikes said the city hasn’t received any invoices from the sheriff’s office since the one they got on Jan. 3 for pay periods from Nov. 21, 2022, through Dec. 30, 2022. But he expects the city will begin receiving them soon for the month of January.

Councilors voted at a Jan. 24 special meeting to approve paying an $11,784.88 invoice from the county Sheriff’s Office for police protection.

Sikes said knowing an exact cost is not possible.

“It will be variable from pay period to pay period,” Sikes said. “There’s no way to pin it down. We’re not paying medical costs so that drives the cost down quite a bit even though we’re paying overtime for their officers to cover our shifts.

“When our officers begin taking vacation or other time off, that will impact the cost, too. Also, when Scott (Chief Kessel) comes back, if he fills in some of the shifts that will also impact the cost.”

Older officers with the sheriff’s office who make more money per hour will also affect the cost.

Sikes also said in an interview on Wednesday with The Western News that the money that has been spent so far for public safety has the city in line with what it normally would be at this time of year.

“Since July 1, 2022, 57% has been spent on public safety and that leaves us on target to not go over budget when the fiscal year ends on June 30, 2023,” Sikes said.

Sikes said the city’s budget for public safety in this fiscal year is $513,132. Through Feb. 1, $290,285 has been spent, leaving $222,846 left, according to Sikes.

Hugh Taylor was the lone councilor who did not vote for the agreement. Taylor and Councilor Zach McNew cited budget concerns and that there wasn’t any cost certainty in the agreement. Taylor also wanted a committee formed to look at the matter.

“We’re a year out to replace the police force and I think there should be a committee to look at this,” Taylor said.

But some councilors and many who spoke during the public comment period felt the current officers - Sgt. Ron Buckner and officer Josh Brabo - needed support so they wouldn’t burn out from working too much and to relieve concerns from residents.

“I feel we need to provide coverage for our citizens so they feel safe,” Councilor Kristin Smith said.

Councilor Gary Beach said, “We need to support our two officers because they need time off, too.”

The memorandum of agreement has been a topic of discussion for about two months following the resignations of three officers, Chris Pape, Ian Smith and Cody DeWitt, on Nov. 21, 2022. The officers have alleged misconduct against Chief Scott Kessel. They included possible illegal billing of hours, forced overtime and that Kessel was neglecting certain responsibilities and not concerned for the welfare of the officers in the department. One investigation cleared Kessel while a second was recently completed. The second inquiry began after some allegations the city said it was not aware of turned up.

“The third party investigator (Breck Law Office) completed her investigation last week,” Libby Mayor Peggy Williams said. “We’re probably three weeks out from having results.”

The news of the resignations didn’t become public until a Dec. 3 social media post. Council held a public meeting the night of Nov. 21, but the city did not share the information of the resignations until a Dec. 5 city council meeting.

At the Dec. 19 city meeting, councilors were presented with a memorandum of agreement that would have established a basic framework for the county sheriff’s office to be reimbursed for overtime its officers worked and mileage incurred while covering shifts left empty following the resignation of the officers.

No decision was made on Dec. 19 and the memorandum was tabled. Councilors cited the open-ended nature of the agreement and if the city had to pay the county for law enforcement services as reasons for not approving the deal at the time.

Sikes provided a letter dated Jan. 4, 2023, that illustrated the city would be paying an additional $3,351.59 over what it would normally pay its officers.

In terms of Kessel’s status, he began taking sick leave on Jan. 16 and as of Feb. 1, still hadn’t returned to work. Kessel was placed on paid administrative leave on Dec. 7 while the city investigated claims of misconduct. After the city determined there was no misconduct, Kessel returned to work on Dec. 27.

At Tuesday’s special meeting, some area residents expressed concern that there wasn’t a question and answer time, burnout among current officers and the Kessel’s status.

“As a county resident, I’m concerned with the potential for burnout of our deputies,” Bull Lake resident Kerrie Bowers said. “It’s also concerning you’ve chosen to stand behind a man who has tarnished the badge. Libby PD will become a revolving door situation.”

Sue Riley, who spoke at the last meeting, asked, “When do we get to ask questions and get some answers?”