Herriman City Council repeals monthly police fee

Herriman’s city council recently approved a repeal of the Unified Police Department fee.

Police services are now funded through the Salt Lake Valley Law Enforcement Service Area of which Herriman became a member Jan. 1. Those funds will be collected through Salt Lake County property taxes beginning this year. SLVLESA provides the mechanism for cities to join together to fund pooled police services to reduce overall costs for law enforcement.

The breakdown of staffing that Herriman currently has access to as a result of being a part of the Unified Police Department includes one police chief, 11 patrol officers, one traffic officer, one Community Oriented Policing Officer (school resources), two detectives, one division executive/detective sergeant, one administrative staff, six shared sergeants with Magna/Kearns precinct and specialized resources on an as needed basis such as investigations of domestic violence, crimes against children, homicide and aggravated assault.

Herriman City spokesperson Nicole Martin also said that the city has at its disposal “experts in SWAT, K9, major accident scene investigations, dispatch, evidence, and other resources.”

Martin went on to point to the recent ‘Machine Gun Fire’ as “an ideal example of the benefits we as a community enjoy as a member city of the Unified Police Department.”

“As the fire raged and quickly grew, we were able to access a huge arsenal of resources with just a word, and they arrived immediately, enabling us to quickly control the situation,” she said.

This same organizational model is being used within the Unified Fire Authority for Herriman City.

The city council also approved a measure to appoint Mayor Josh Mills to represent Herriman on the SLVLESA board. Mills is currently on the UPD board for Herriman as well.