Wenatchee And East Wenatchee Eye Shared Police Chief Role
The cities of Wenatchee and East Wenatchee are considering sharing a police chief to oversee both police departments.
Mayors Jerrilea Crawford, East Wenatchee, and Mike Porier, Wenatchee, have initiated work on an Interlocal Agreement creating a single chief they believe would save money, provide consistent leadership and improve law enforcement for both cities
Wenatchee Mayor Mike Poirier said, "Our citizens deserve a good, responsible government that looks at opportunities to make a better community, and that's exactly what we're doing here."
If both city councils approve the plan. East Wenatchee Police Chief Rick Johnson would be named unified chief, and Wenatchee Police Chief Edgar Reinfeld would be appointed as full-time Wenatchee City Administrator, a role that he is currently performing in addition to his police duties on a part-time, interim basis.
The city of Wenatchee has looked at 65 applicants for the city administrator role since Laura Gloria left the position last August. Department heads have considered Reinfeld the top choice in a permanent capacity, according to Mayor Mike Poirier.
Reinfeld is also planning to retire from a 30+ career in civil service.
Would Wenatchee and East Wenatchee Police Departments Merge Under the Interlocal Agreement?
Under a proposed agreement, each department would remain separate and function the same with very little, if any, command structure changes, according to Wenatchee Chief Edgar Reinfeld
"Our current captains at the Wenatchee Police Department carry a ton of the day-to-day (duties) and have significant responsibilities for each half of the department. East Wenatchee's assistant chief's role is very much the same way. A day-to-day operational control role, and so that doesn't need to change at all for this to work," Reinfeld said.
Mutual response agreements would remain intact on major incidents or when backup is requested. Crawford says East Wenatchee officers would not patrol Wenatchee streets, and likewise for Wenatchee officers.
Crawford says the compensation for a unified chief's position would be shared based on Wenatchee's larger department size, call volume, population, and other criteria, suggesting Wenatchee would pay the majority share.
"The amount we will probably go with is 32 percent East Wenatchee and 68 percent Wenatchee split. for the cost of a single chef, including salary, benefits, and other costs like a department vehicle, according to Crawford.
The total compensation package for a shared chief structure will be determined as part of the interlocal agreement, but Reinfeld told KPQ News the amount would be on par with Wenatchee's current police chief salary of approximately $197,000 annually.
If approved, the agreement could be in place later this summer.