On August 1, 2023 voters in the city of Elma will be asked to approve a replacement levy to assist in the funding of your police department. The decision by city council to ask again for tax dollars to go towards public safety was not taken lightly, but found to be necessary. Hopefully, this letter will help you, the taxpayer, understand how the continued funding will be used to continue bringing you the professional police services you have come to expect from the Elma Police Department.
Our department has 10 full-time employees, including 2 clerical staff and 8 fully sworn officers. In the past year, we’ve had two officers separate from employment and one officer off after injuring themselves in the line of duty. We have since hired a new lateral officer and an entry level officer, who is currently attending the basic law enforcement academy in Burien. Unfortunately, we will continue to be down an officer in 2023, until our injured teammate can return to full duty. Although we are unable
to at this time, the need to increase our staff in the future is inevitable.
The Elma Police Department serves our population of approximately 3500, this number does not account for our transient population or those who work and play within the city of Elma. As our yearly calls for service reach approximately 6000, we are the busiest small agency in Grays Harbor County, surpassed only by Ocean Shores, who have 13 fully sworn officers. The Elma Police Department is a full-service law enforcement agency that provides personal police services to those that live, work, play, worship, and study in our community. Our team would like to believe it is part of the reason the city’s crime rate is low and Elma continues to be known for its small-town feel.
This year, to allow for greater officers, prisoners, and public safety, we have deployed body and vehicle dash cameras. The implementation of the camera program has brought to light the cost increase for enhanced cyber security to protect sensitive data along with the cost of clerical work to respond to public requests of records.
All of the personnel, equipment, training, and improvements made, or proposed, costs money for our agency to move forward. The city of Elma has supported and voted for their Police Levies since 2015. The $250,000 levy is important to citizens of our community, as it will help keep your police department at its current staffing level.
This levy will replace the levy set to expire at the end of this year and will not increase your tax. If passed, the levy will cost property taxpayers approximately 52 cents per $1,000 of their assessed value. For example, if your home is assessed at $300,000 it will cost about $15.00 per month. If you have any questions regarding the levy or your police service, please feel free to contact me directly.
