FENWICK ISLAND – A Fenwick Island official has called for a closer look at costs associated with assisting the Delaware State Police (DSP).
At a meeting of the Fenwick Island Town Council last Friday, Councilwoman Vicki Carmean expressed her concerns to Police Chief William Boyden over the amount of time Fenwick officers spend assisting state law enforcement.
“I noticed your time assisting Delaware agencies continue to go up, up, up,” she said.
Boyden, who first noted the upward tick earlier this year, said time assisting the DSP continues to rise.
“It’s only getting worse,” he said. “Our county just signed a new agreement with the Delaware State Police. It looks good on paper, but in reality it’s really the same old … deal.”
Boyden noted that state troopers assigned to cover portions of the state are stretched thin and require the assistance of nearby agencies.
“The trooper that covers this area covers the largest area in the state of Delaware,” he said. “It goes from the Atlantic Ocean to the swamp, from the state line all the way up to the inlet.”
He said troopers busy in other parts of the area often cannot make it to calls near the resort community, leading them to call on local agencies for help.
“For them to get here this time of year, they might as well fly,” he said. “Half the calls we had today have been handling calls for the state police.”
Carmean asked Boyden about costs associated with assisting the DSP.
“Have you ever thought about the actual cost of having our officers respond to these calls?” she said.
Boyden replied that while the department has no running totals of the cost, the county was giving each department a $25,000 grant to assist state police.
“Right now, it is very gracious of the county to give everybody $25,000,” he said.
Carmean argued the grant’s amount continues to stay the same while calls for assistance rise.
“It’s not just responding to the calls,” she said. “You also have the follow-up paper work, you have the cost of the gas and vehicle upkeep, plus, you have to go to court sometimes.”
Boyden said he did not expect funding to change in the near future.
“We are the end of the end the state,” he said. “Everything drifts down and we get whatever is left over.”
Boyden added he expects calls for service and assistance to increase as the population in the nearby vicinity increases.
“I don’t see an end to it,” he said.
Carmean argued Fenwick residents are financing a county-wide service.
“My concern is … we’re paying double the amount of taxes because we also pay taxes to the town whereas the unincorporated areas do not,” she said. “In a sense, we are subsidizing a public safety issue that belongs to the county.”
Boyden suggested that residents write their concerns to state representatives and county officials.
Carmean also expressed interest in seeing the cost of assisting the DSP.
“I’d just like to see some sort of breakdown as to the actual cost,” she said. “I don’t think the $25,000 covers it.”
Boyden agreed to give her a report of the department’s costs.
“I can work something up for you,” he said.
