EATONVILLE, Wash. (AP) — The town council in the Pierce County community of Eatonville has voted 5-0 to keep the century-old police department rather than switch to law enforcement protection from the county sheriff’s department.
KING-TV reports that Mayor Ray Harper had estimated the switch could have saved $250,000 a year. Harper says, in his words, “The bottom line is we’re broke.”
The five-member Eatonville department would have been replaced by two full-time deputies, additional patrols, and 911 service provided from well outside the town.
However, Eatonville’s police chief says the sheriff’s department is overworked and wouldn’t be able to respond to the same calls.
