You can tell that election season is in full swing by the number and frequency of incendiary rumors in circulation. Many of these rumors are attributable to #GerryFriedel, the man who aspires to be our mayor and should be striving to earn our trust. Instead, he is following the ROT playbook by conducting one of the dirtiest mayoral campaigns in #FountainHills history.
During the next 10 days we will be looking at the rumor mongering that Friedel thrives on.
The Rumor
The Town of Fountain Hills pays #MCSO to police all of the unincorporated areas of District 7.
The Reality
The Town of Fountain Hills DOES NOT pay MCSO to police the unincorporated areas of District 7.
The patrol officers assigned to Fountain Hills are required to stay within the Town limits unless they are engaged in active pursuit, involved in an investigation of an incident involving the Town, or called upon to provide mutual aid in response to an emergency or dangerous situation outside of the Town’s boundaries.
Friedel has a copy of the contract with MCSO, voted to approve it, but apparently never read it.
Councilmember Friedel has seen the crazy rumor circulating online, most prominently on “Fountain Hills Connection,” that the taxpayers of Fountain Hills pay for the MCSO to police all of the unincorporated areas of District 7 — an area that encompasses the communities of Rio Verde, Tonto Verde, and Goldfield Ranch.
We can thank Gerry Friedel for the resurgence of this ridiculous rumor.
During the Mayoral Candidate Forum the three candidates were asked to address the contract between the Town of Fountain Hills and the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office as follows:
Question number two: Fountain Hills is one of the safest communities in Arizona and is served by the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office. In October of 2023, the town council approved an intergovernmental agreement with MCSO extending law enforcement services through June of 2026. The contract has a base value of $6.1 million, provides 18 personnel, as well as necessary supplies, equipment, and vehicles. Do you think this is a good deal? Does this contract adequately serve the needs of Fountain Hills and what changes, if any, would you negotiate in future contracts?
Mayor #GinnyDickey was called upon as the first to respond to the question. Mayor Dickey began by expressing her belief that the contract was a good deal for the Town. She went on to discuss the negotiations; the recovery of just under a million dollars from the MCSO following audits of the service provided under prior contracts; and some of the compromises that had been made during the negotiation process.
During her presentation, Mayor Dickey briefly addressed the ongoing rumor that Fountain Hills pays for the police services provided by the MCSO to unincorporated communities outside of the Town’s boundaries, including Rio Verde and Tonto Verde. Mayor Dickey assured the attendees that Fountain Hills does not pay MCSO to police Rio Verde or any unincorporated areas of Maricopa County.
The question was then posed to Councilmember Friedel who responded, in part, as follows:
“This contract’s got to be looked at and reworked…. We’re not getting what we’re paying for…. I have two emails that I’ve gotten that confirm the fact that we’re still covering Rio Verde and Tonto Verde. They’re taking people from our force, our protection, and they’re going up there to handle calls…. They said they were going to give us a deputy to patrol Rio Verde and Tonto Verde or Goldfield Ranch…. That’s got to change. All these different towns, why are we the only ones getting a bill for this? It’s got to change, and it’s got to be written.”
So here we are. Who to believe?
Our mayor said that Fountain Hills is not paying to police communities outside of the Town’s boundaries.
Friedel said the deputies assigned to Fountain Hills are “still covering” Rio Verde and Tonto Verde and Fountain Hills was “getting the bill.”
One would hope that before making this representation Councilmember Friedel would have reviewed the contract between the Town and Maricopa County. Under the terms of the contract:
• MCSO is obligated to provide law enforcement services within the incorporated limits of Fountain Hills.
• MCSO is obligated to assign 18 patrol deputies to Fountain Hills on a full-time basis. These patrol officers are required to work within the Town’s boundaries unless they are required to “cross jurisdictional boundaries for pursuits, ongoing investigations of Town cases, or other temporary law enforcement situations including responding to requests for assistance from other officers in surrounding jurisdictions in emergency or dangerous situations.”
If a patrol officer assigned to Fountain Hills crossed town boundaries to provide police services in Rio Verde or Tonto Verde that did not involve an emergency or dangerous situation he would be subject to discipline and the MCSO would be in breach of its contract.
The provision in the MCSO contract requiring the assigned officers to respond to emergency calls for assistance in surrounding jurisdictions is equivalent to a “Mutual Aid Agreement”— an agreement by first responders, when called upon, to cross jurisdictional boundaries to provide assistance in the event of an emergency. Mutual aid, whether provided on an ad hoc basis or by virtue of a formal agreement, is essential to public safety.
Police and fire departments rely on one another to provide necessary assistance to protect people or property. The Fountain Hills Fire Department has been called upon to provide assistance to neighboring fire districts.
Is Friedel suggesting that patrol officers assigned to Fountain Hills refuse to respond to a request for assistance involving a fatal collision on Highway 87 because it would take them outside Town’s boundaries?
Does Friedel believe that the Fountain Hills Fire Department should refuse to respond to a call for assistance from the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation Fire Department to put out a brush fire on the Reservation?
If Councilmember Friedel is legitimately concerned that patrol officers assigned to Fountain Hills are being called upon to provide services outside of the Town limits that do not involve “mutual aid” he should, at a minimum, obtain relevant information before feeding the rumor mill.
Under the terms of the contract, the town council or town manager could ask the MCSO to provide a report describing all incidents where patrol officers, assigned to Fountain Hills, provided police services outside of the Town’s boundaries.
Friedel didn’t bother to seek detailed official information before fueling the flames. Rather, he relied on two emails to gain political capital and throw some mud at the mayor.
We have filed a records request seeking copies of the emails Friedel referred to and will supplement this report after they are received.
The residents of Rio Verde, Tonto Verde, and Goldfield Ranch pay for police services through their property taxes.
Contrary to the rumor, the residents of the unincorporated areas of District 7 do pay for police services. The MCSO is required to provide police services to all the unincorporated areas of Maricopa County. The County recovers the cost of providing these services through the assessment and collection of property taxes from the property owners in these areas.
Cities and Towns that are incorporated, like Fountain Hills, must either form their own police departments or contract for those services. Since 2003, Fountain Hills has entered into contracts with Maricopa County to provide police services through the MCSO
The MCSO has specifically assigned a deputy to cover the unincorporated communities in District 7.
During the Forum Friedel also stated: “[MCSO] said they were going to give us a deputy to patrol Rio Verde and Tonto Verde or Goldfield Ranch.” The statement implied that the MCSO had not made good on this “commitment.” It is our understanding that MCSO has created a position for a patrol officer to specifically cover these communities. The compensation for the officer or officers assigned to fill this position is covered by the County outside of the contract with Fountain Hills.
Fountain Hills pays less per capita than the majority of cities and towns in the East Valley.
During the Forum Friedel claimed, “We’re not getting what we’re paying for.” The data suggests otherwise.
In 2021, the Fountain Hills Town Council retained Matrix Consulting to conduct a review of law enforcement services. According to the results of that study, the amount paid by Fountain Hills for police services ($257 per capita) was lower than all but one other town (Cave Creek) in the East Valley. The study also found that the average per capita cost for law enforcement services for East Valley towns and cities was $474.
Do we get what we pay for? Based on objective measurements, we do. The five-minute response time for Level 1 responses is below the national average. And crime statistics demonstrate that Fountain Hills is one of the safest places to live in the state.
ONE RUMOR DOWN BUT MORE TO GO
One ugly, unfounded rumor has been debunked but there are more to address. Sadly, that’s what happens when ROT comes to a town and a candidate is desperately searching for mud to sling.
Read the contract by clicking here.