Jacksonville is ramping up the hiring of police officers after a proposed contract for part-time services provided by the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office was not completed.

A new officer began patrolling the streets this week, and the department conducted officer candidate interviews this past week, said police Chief David Towe.

Jacksonville’s police department has been down on officer numbers, due in part to other agencies ability to offer better pay. Under a separate agreement,  county sheriff’s deputies provide patrols during evenings and weekends.

Jacksonville currently has four police officers, including the chief and Sgt. Matt Hannum, but would like to have six. Officers are frequently asked to work overtime. In addition, hiring of a code enforcement officer is also under consideration.

The city had negotiated with the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office and Sheriff Nate Sickler since the beginning of the year to provide officers for a three-year period while the department rebuilt staff.

City Councilors approved a contract in early October, but county commissioners and administration then determined the projected amount was not enough to cover the cost of providing service. In November, city administration informed the council that it had suspended the effort to secure a contract as the expense would be too great.

“The sheriff for our county doesn’t have the ability to enter into a contract,” said County Administrator Danny Jordan. “The sheriff negotiated with the police chief and left the administration and the commissioners out of the talks.”

The proposed contract, at a fee of $300,000 annually for three years, didn’t pay the cost of the services that would have been provided, said Jordan. He recommended to the commissioners that they not approve the proposed rate and presented Jacksonville with increased costs.

“We are fine with providing a service with them, but they need to pay what the costs are,” said Jordan. “That contract … was subsidizing the city cost. We don’t have the authority to do that anywhere in the county.”

“The cost would be more than we can afford to pay. We could not meet the price,” said Mayor Donna Bowen.

A misperception by the county that the city was somehow saving money under the proposed arrangement was not true, said Bowen. She later spoke with Commissioner Colleen Roberts to clarify the issue. She said Roberts was apologetic about how things unfolded with the sheriff’s department.

The city had saved money because it was unable to hire officers, but those funds would have been used to pay for the sheriff’s deputies, said Bowen.

“We weren’t going to be saving any money by using the services of the sheriff’s department,” said Bowen. “Folks thought we had a bunch of money.”

According to testimony at city council sessions, a new labor contract between the county and the sheriff deputies’ union resulted in increased costs that boosted the amount Jacksonville would have needed to pay. Jordan confirmed that the county and union had reached an agreement.

After the county did not approve the original contract, a suggestion was floated that perhaps a two-year arrangement could be made. That was not pursued because it did not appear to work well with city goals, said Bowen.

“Disappointed” was how Towe described his reaction to the failure to secure a contract. City Administrator Jeff Alvis used the same word.

“We are just going to pursue our recruitment. We are going to keep our town protected,” said Alvis. He said Sickler had done what he could to help out the city.

New officer Jesscia Woodward graduated from the Police Academy in Salem and began working during October. She has been patrolling with other officers, but began patrols on her own this week. She formerly worked for the Jackson County Jail.

Hannum, the sergeant, returned to the Jacksonville department in October. He had previously worked as a police officer in town and remained on a part-time, as-needed basis since January 2022. He also served in law enforcement in New Mexico.

Hannum’s hiring includes training him to become chief when Towe retires, if the council approves. Towe has served the city for 33 years.

Besides the initial interviews, more will be held to secure officers, said Towe. He had hoped that experienced officers from other cities might transfer into the department, but that has not happened. He said better wages offered by other cities to transfers might be a factor.

Towe hopes that two officers could be sent to the academy for training early next year. If that happens, they would be able to begin patrols in early summer.

In July, the city council approved an increase to the public safety surcharge attached to city water bills. The rate was increased from $20 to $35 monthly, partially in anticipation of an agreement with the county.