Several of the non-incumbent candidates are strongly challenging the cost of Kuna’s existing police services. Me too. Take a glance at the bottom of the page for a list of personnel and salaries that we contract from Ada County.
Past mayor and current mayoral candidate Greg Nelson and I are both open to a review and excited about the potential for budgetary savings simultaneous with service improvements. There are three good options with several variations within them.
Option 1:
Request proposals from nearby police agencies including Nampa, Owyhee County, Canyon County and others.
Option 2:
Request proposal from Ada County in light of the proposals received from others above.
Option 3:
Working with local, experienced law enforcement administrators, develop a local Kuna police agency, staffed with veteran police officers who are responsive to Kuna needs, are Kuna residents, a part of our community and whose salary expectations fit within community norms.
Study models in other communities that take advantage of a spectrum of police experience from 20-year veterans to high-quality academy graduates. Look at powerful force-multiplying tools like a clerical community watch coordinator, posses, reserve deputies and volunteer emergency response teams. A passel of pocket pagers could easily cost far less than the least experienced employee we could hire while providing for a crisis support team of extraordinary size and capacity.
The incumbent mayor and city council have been satisfied with the cost and service they have delivered. Kuna emergency services needs fresh eyes and minds applied to this and other areas of local government.
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——– Kuna Police Salaries ———-
As you review this list, keep in mind that the people who pay this bill, the people who employ those listed below, made a median income of $40,617 per Kuna household, $32,236 per employed male and $22,473 per adult female. Those taxpayers of modest means supported a relatively expensive bureaucracy.
1 Kuna Police lieutenant: $89,398
2 Kuna Police sergeant: $78,187.20
3 Kuna Police sergeant: $78,020.80
4 Kuna Police detective: $66,310.40
5 Kuna Police detective: $65,665.60
6 Kuna Police deputy: $63,211.20
7 Kuna Police deputy: $62,420.80
8 Kuna Police deputy: $61,963.20
9 Kuna Police deputy: $61,339.20
10 Kuna Police deputy: $61,339.20
11 Kuna Police deputy: $61,006.40
12 Kuna Police deputy: $60,756.80
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—- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics 2008 report —
“…it’s true, as the saying goes, that police officers “put their lives on the line every day.” But to place that statement into context, it’s worth mentioning there are many common jobs more hazardous than being a police officer, including some among municipal employees. For comparison, here are some 2008 on-the job fatality rates (expressed in number of deaths per 100,000 full-time equivalent jobs) for various occupations:
Fishermen: 128.9
Logging workers: 116.7
Aircraft pilots: 72.4
Iron and steelworkers: 46.4
Farmers and ranchers: 39.5
Garbage collectors: 36.8
Roofers: 34.4
Electrical power line installation/repair: 29.8
Truck drivers: 22.8
Oil and gas extraction: 21.9
Taxi drivers: 19.3
Drinking establishment employees: 17.0
Construction workers: 16.0
Police and deputies: 15.6
Grounds maintenance: 11.9
Welders: 10.5
Electricians: 8.3
Gas station attendant: 7.5
Firefighters: 6.9
Auto mechanics: 5.0
Newspaper publishers: 4.8
Carpenters: 4.7
Janitors: 3.1
Retail sales: 1.5
Just as taxi drivers and truckers have high fatality rates, a lot of the danger from being a police officer comes from spending so much time on the roadway. About 2/3 of police officer deaths in Texas involve traffic accidents.”
