The Lake View City Council has approved of hiring a police officer, despite concern from council members on the distance he lives from Lake View. During Monday night city council meeting, it was approved to hire Officer Romeo Chavez from Alta, which is approximately 37 miles away from Lake View. Council members raised concerns over response times, asking if the 44-minute drive was going to be too long in case emergencies would arise. Lake View Police Chief George Athan says he is in favor of a one-hour response time, as when it comes to true emergencies, other agencies would step forward to assist.
Athan says there are many police and county sheriff’s offices doing away with living requirements, or at least reviewing established restrictions once a year due to the difficulty of hiring qualified officers.
Due to federal law, Athan says the city is kind of tied when it comes to setting living restrictions when it comes to hiring officers.
Athan says “reasonable” does fall into a gray area. Athan recommended hiring Chavez for the position, as he was already certified for five-years, meaning the city would save approximately $60,000 from needing to send him to the academy and also, he would not have to be supervised as he is already a licensed officer. City council voted 4-1 on approving the new officer hire, but is continuing to keep the job posting available in hopes, qualified, closer candidates will apply.
