Sheriff's Election #2

[Wake-up!]

Mike Cordell, I've have read most of your blog entries on this Forum, maybe not all. Excuse me if I'm asking you to repeat something you might have posted earlier.

If you are elected Sheriff, what is on your priority list of actions and/or changes? Where do you think law enforcement needs to focus its attention relative to crime in Elk County? Do you have specific administrative changes or additions that you think will improve enforcement services, or reduce enforcement costs to the residents of the County?

Thanks for your open communication in this election.

[Mcordell]

If I'm elected to the office of Sheriff, my first priority in regards to changes in the way things are done is to shift the focus of the agency away from running up and down the highway looking for traffic violations to proactive patrols of the county and the towns within the county.  The sheriff's office's first and most important job is to patrol the county to actively prevent crime.  The current sheriff's office focuses almost exclusively on traffic enforcement which I believe should be incidental to regular patrol.  I also understand that by having openly stated that on several occasions, I have affected the way in which the current administration has directed deputies.  Prior to visiting Elk Falls to speak with members of the community, the most frequent complaint I heard from citizens was that they never see deputies patrolling the town.  Since my visit, after one particular individual approached the current SO administration to tell them about the content of the conversation while I was campaigning, the sheriff patrols within the city have increased slightly.  It is my hope that people remember the past years, when the Sheriff wasn't concerned about re-election, and those patrols were not happening.  Proactive, visible patrols are necessary to reduce property crime and there is a significant amount of room for improvement in that aspect over the current practices of the SO.  I also do not believe in revenue driven law enforcement which seems to be the practice of this agency.  As I am typing this, I have heard one person from the SO make 3 traffic stops, all in the same location, all along the highway.  Meanwhile, who is patrolling?

There are also numerous technology updates that need to be immediately made within the sheriff's office that drastically affect the way the sheriff's office operates.  These changes may not seem entirely necessary to the public who only see's operations outside the SO for the most part, but they are changes that carry significant implications in regards to major incidents and coordination with multiple agencies, including fire, ems, and the sheriff's office.  These changes will create a more effective agency and will have an impact on public safety.  I cannot go into specifics on those changes at this time for a few reasons.  First, the explanation of the current problem and the proposed solution is quite involved, and secondly, the specific solutions will, in some ways, depend on budget and current resources which I won't have all the details of until taking office.

In regards to administrative changes, there are plenty of changes that need to be made in the administration of the agency.  This is not a reference to personnel changes, but the manner in which the agency is run in the top level.  There is nearly no cooperation between the SO and neighboring agencies which reduces the resources available in a time of need.  There is some degree of cooperation between the SO and other county departments, however that cooperation should be significantly improved.  There are also numerous changes that need to be made to reduce costs to the county in running this agency.  I do know that the first year's budget is going to be quite tight as the improvements necessary to the infrastructure do cost money and are long overdue.  After the first year, I expect to have a reduced budget strain for continued operation of the agency.  You must remember that the budget for the next fiscal year was written by the current administration and was not based on the needs I see for the agency.  I believe there are wasted tax dollars in some areas that need to be allocated to other areas within the agency, such as training, but I will be limited in how much I can reallocate money from one line item to another.  I will not go into specific budgetary line items that concern me at this time as we still have 2 months before the general election and it would be unwise of me to lay out all the solutions for the current administration.  They have had years to address these issues and have failed.  I plan to fix the issues, not tell them how.  What I will tell you is, I see absolutely no reason for deputies to patrol in Toyota Tundras with an MSRP of $35-40,000 before adding emergency equipment when there are purpose built law enforcement vehicles which exceed the capabilities of the Tundra, get better gas mileage, and can come fully equipped from the factory with all equipment for less than the base price of the Tundra.  This is one example of budgetary waste that would be better allocated to other areas of the budget.

Once elected I do plan to be extremely open and transparent about major expenses and the reason behind them. 

[Ross]

I'd like to see a lot more transparency in all of Elk County's governments.

There is no reason not to publish each governments monthly expenditures on their web sites.
It is all public information and we pay for the web sites.
It would amount to nothing more than a copy and paste.

I am not talking about making access to the actual books just copy and paste!

It might take all of 5 minutes.

I'd especially like to see West Elk USD-282 become transparent, they are too secretive as if it is all their personal business and no one else business.

[Humpy]

 First of all I was an LEO for 10 years and we always used to laugh at the Sedgwick Co. deputies for not needing to clean "any dust in their trunks from driving down county roads". I can relate to wide and very visible patrol,it is a way to not only show the residents there is a presence of their LEOs but is a very real way to prevent crime.I can't remember the last time I saw any kind of patrol come down my road in the past two years.
Now for the way the county is providing patrol . I don't think Mike, that the county is paying 30G to 40G per Tundra because they should be buying them under fleet buying. A car just won't work here in our county,and smaller 4x4 s can't provide the need for transportation of equiptment and persons not to mention the places they have to go, so I will have to defend the Tundra (Dodge man myself) I know Davis Moore sells to cities and counties for fleet price,which is so far from what I pay for a truck, that it pisses me off.
If the county is not buying at fleet price then that could be another old "good buddy"deal, but I don't  know about that for sure because that needs to be a question for the A.G. if it is not on the level.

God bless and protect all of my brothers in Blue so they can go home at the end of their shift. l love you one and all.

[Mcordell]

I have had no problems patrolling rural Wilson county in purpose built police vehicles including the interceptor SUV and the Tahoe police suv. Both cost much less than the tundra and are more appropriate for law enforcement patrol. Both are also available for fleet pricing. My opinion is that the Tundra is a ridiculous choice. The other unseen cost of using non purpose-built vehicles is that there is no standard police equipment for these trucks. With an interceptor SUV there are emergency lighting solutions that are plug and play compatible. There are also graphics options that are designed for the body shape without being custom made. There are dividers that are made for them as well as several other pieces of equipment. In the long run that means it is less expensive to outfit a proper law enforcement vehicle than to turn one into a LE vehicle when that was never the intention. LE vehicles also have improved braking systems for emergency vehicle operation as well as increased capacity of the alternators to run the large amount of electronic equipment. None of this is true for non LE vehicles.

[Humpy]

As usual,your point is well made,but I still see room for a truck in certain situations. We will have to agree to disagree on fineite points.
I look forward to meeting you some day to swap war stories.

[Mcordell]

Definitely. And I don't disagree that having a truck in the fleet would be beneficial. They definitely have capabilities SUVs don't. I think keeping one or two of the trucks is probably a good idea and replacing the aged trucks in the fleet with SUVs would be beneficial.

I'd love to meet with you and share some stories and experiences.

[Humpy]

Mike I don't hide who I am,but some times it is best to not discus things on a "forum".
I am Bill Hunphrey and my email is wshum@southwind.net  God save me now,but there are some things that should not be on public forum.I fear no one and nothing. glad you are at home after your shift.
But let it be also known that I pray for Doug Hanks and his officers too.It is a unique family we belong to that goes beyond elections and the day to day business of the  civilian.
Ya Ronnie E. I know.  Same thing,just few realize it.

[Mcordell]

Thank you sir. This is definitely a unique career path and we have seen more and more challenges in recent history. I appreciate the kind words and thoughts. I'll be in touch