Audit: Kalispell Police needs 5 additional officers

A public safety management consultant has recommended that the Kalispell Police Department hire five additional full-time officers, as well as invest in their facility and vehicle fleet.

Kalispell City Council discussed the results of the external review of the city’s police department at their work session Monday.

Jarrod Burguan, a former police chief who issued the report for the Center for Public Safety Management, also called for organizational restructuring and improved internal auditing, saying that data provided by the department for analysis showed a need for better record-keeping.

In his remarks to the council, Burguan said he was “very impressed” with the department, and said that interviews with officers revealed a “sense that the police really enjoy working in the community.”

“Members generally care,” he said. “Morale appeared to be pretty good.”

Burguan also praised cooperation between the department and the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office, which he described as a closer relationship than in most jurisdictions that he has studied.

Among issues Burguan discussed were the state of the department’s evidence handling room, which he said left him with significant concerns about the intermingling of evidence.

Burguan recommended the department undergo a third-party audit of their evidence handling procedure and facilities, and invest in software and a commercial refrigerator to preserve evidence.

He called the department’s organizational structure “confusing,” and recommended an overhaul.

Burguan also recommended randomized internal audits of footage collected by officer-worn body cams on a monthly or quarterly basis. The department currently collects footage, but does not review it unless there is a reason to, such as concerns about police use of force.

The report recommends that the department re-evaluate its scheduling of officers, which can leave the so-called graveyard overnight shift staffed with only two officers at a time. The department currently operates under a four days per week, 10 hours per day scheduling scheme.

He also called for the implementation of a sign-out system for the police fleet to ensure greater officer accountability, saying that certain vehicles had damage that could not be explained.

City Manager Doug Russell said that new Police Chief Jordan Venezio was already looking into implementing such a system based on the report’s recommendations.

Venezio described the report’s findings as a foundation to begin conversations with the community about public safety priorities. He said his biggest takeaway was that the department has strong connections with community members.

Venezio also shared that he was discussing a way to change how 911 dispatch calls are coded. The review of response time found that Kalispell police respond to the highest priority calls in an average of 9.2 minutes, significantly higher than the national average of 5 minutes.

Burguan said this could be due to record-keeping not accurately showing the seriousness of calls, and recommended revision of the recording system.

Council member Chad Graham praised the department for cooperating with the review, and said that learning of the fleet’s condition was a surprise to him. He said that the council had heard concerns about the department’s evidence room for years, but that previous cost estimates to fix the problem had been too high for the council to approve.

COUNCIL ALSO discussed a potential mill levy referendum to go before voters to fund public safety agencies.

Russell said that current tax levels would not be able to pay for five additional officers as had been recommended in the report, and said he would be recommending that council go to voters to approve a levy that would go toward law enforcement and the fire and EMS departments.

Other potential levies discussed included one that would fund sidewalks and trails as laid out in the city’s transportation plan, as well as a levy that would fund a public housing authority.

Council member Sam Nunnally said that funding a housing authority seemed like it would be necessary for the city, though stopped short of calling for support in the upcoming election.

Council member Ryan Hunter indicated support for the trails levy, and called for a housing plan before discussion of starting an authority to handle housing policy in the city, saying going to voters to approve such an agency would be “putting the cart before the horse.”

The council will receive a similar report on the fire and EMS departments next month before deciding on which levies, if any, to put before voters.

Reporter Adrian Knowler can be reached at 758-4407 or aknowler@dailyinterlake.com