LA CENTER — After more than a year of negotiations, the city of La Center has a formal contract for full-time police services with the Clark County Sheriff’s Office.
In addition to four deputies and a support specialist stationed in La Center, sheriff’s office Cmdr. Phil Sample will serve as the city’s full-time police chief.
A temporary agreement, which provided the city with two deputies and a commander, had been in place since March.
“This is going to open us up to another few officers plus a full-time clerk at the police station,” La Center Mayor Thomas Strobehn said Thursday.
The Clark County Council approved the new contract at its meeting Tuesday. La Center will pay a little more than $5.3 million over the term of the five-year contract, which has a renewal option at the end of 2029.
The contract covers staffing, initial and ongoing costs for vehicles, equipment such as body-worn cameras, protective gear and weapons, computers and other essential equipment.
“We are pleased to have an agreement finalized between Clark County and La Center. This was a collaborative effort,” Sheriff John Horch said in a Wednesday press release. “The residents of La Center will see us protecting and serving their community, and our deputies are excited and ready to go.”
Under the temporary agreement, the deputies and commander’s time was typically split between the city and the county, leaving the police station unmanned during parts of the day.
Strobehn said having staff available throughout the day at the station, 105 W. Fifth St., La Center, will be especially beneficial for residents.
“People were clamoring to come into the police station to get reports or make a complaint or whatever. But there was nobody to go to,” Strobehn said. “When that started happening, the call volume started decreasing because there was no one to report crimes to.”
Business hours at the station are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Strobehn said he expects a renewed police presence will help discourage speeders and other lesser crimes.
“You’re going to see a lot of activity going on in the city of La Center,” Strobehn said. “This is a small town still and the people expect it to have that small town feel. When you have people blazing through the town at 50 mph, it loses that appeal.”
Strobehn said having a police force in the city has been his main focus since he was appointed mayor in April 2023. He said it took longer than expected, but he knows this will be a good partnership.
Declining tax revenue in the city left La Center struggling to pay for a police department. By the time the temporary agreement was reached earlier this year, the city was down from 10½ employees to an interim police chief.
“I want to thank everyone who worked hard to make this happen, and I give special thanks to Sheriff Horch and Chief Mike McCabe for pushing it forward,” Strobehn said in the press release.
All staff from the sheriff’s office will be in place by February.
