Wednesday, DECEMBER 17, 2025 |
Photo – Sheriff logo – Bigfoot99 file photo
The Carbon County Sheriff’s Office has agreed to patrol the Town of Baggs for a set fee. County officials say the amount is too low.
Small municipalities across the country are struggling to fund and staff their own police departments. In Carbon County, the Town of Medicine Bow recently dissolved its marshal’s department due to a lack of funding. Hanna faced difficulties finding law enforcement officers willing to serve for the admittedly low pay. Combined with insufficient financial support, Hanna is now patrolled by two part‑time marshals.
The Town of Baggs does not have its own dedicated police department, instead relying on the Carbon County Sheriff’s Office for law enforcement coverage. At Tuesday morning’s Board of Carbon County Commissioners meeting, Sheriff Alex Bakken announced that he and the Baggs Town Council had reached a memorandum of understanding. For $21,000 a year, the Sheriff’s Office will patrol the town and respond to local calls for service. Sheriff Bakken said the agreement is similar to one between his department and the Town of Riverside.
Sheriff Bakken continued, saying he doesn’t like to charge municipalities for law enforcement coverage. However, the sheriff said he is legally required to responsibly manage county funds. By entering into the memorandum of understanding, Sheriff Bakken explained, the town is sharing the cost of emergency response with his department.
Sheriff Bakken said the Baggs Town Council has already agreed to the memorandum of understanding and urged the Board of Commissioners to do the same. The sheriff added that he does not expect to use the agreements to pressure towns into supplementing his department’s budget. A municipal police department is always the best option. However, because of the high cost of providing law enforcement services, Sheriff Bakken said towns cannot always afford to maintain their own departments. In those cases, the municipality should contribute to the protection of their residents.
Commission Vice Chairwoman Gwynn Bartlett said that under the memorandum of understanding, Baggs is effectively paying $90 an hour for sheriff’s deputies to patrol the town. Vice Chair Bartlett added that the Sheriff’s Office cannot provide law enforcement for the entire county at that rate.
Sheriff Bakken agreed, saying no municipality in the state would fund its own police department if it could rely on the county sheriff for coverage at a significantly lower cost. The sheriff cautioned that charging towns the full price of law enforcement may be too much to ask.
Vice Chair Bartlett said towns that previously funded their own police departments should understand the true cost of law enforcement coverage.
Commissioner Sue Jones said municipalities are statutorily required to provide police protection for their residents. Commissioner Jones said contracting with the Sheriff’s Office is far more cost effective than funding a municipal police department.
Commissioner Jones said that directing residents to simply call the Sheriff’s Office in an emergency does not meet that statutory requirement.
Sheriff Bakken agreed that towns should contribute financially to law enforcement coverage, noting that the memorandums of understanding are reviewed annually to ensure each municipality is paying an appropriate price. However, the sheriff cautioned that requiring them to pay the full amount upfront could cause municipalities to withdraw from the agreements, to the detriment of their residents.
Commissioner Jones noted that market value is still less than the cost of a municipal police department. Additionally, even under the agreements, the Carbon County Sheriff’s Office is unable to enforce local ordinances, such as noise or property code violations.
Sheriff Bakken said he ensures the towns understand the limitations of the memorandums of understanding, acknowledging that the agreements are the best alternative to a municipal police department.
Sheriff Bakken explained that deputies will always respond to 911 emergencies, whether or not a town has a memorandum of understanding with his department. The agreements are simply a way to ensure municipalities contribute financially to their own law enforcement coverage.
Sheriff Bakken clarified that without an agreement, deputies will only respond to imminent emergency calls, such as life‑threatening situations. Under the memorandum of understanding, deputies will spend set amounts of time in each town, patrolling and addressing residents’ concerns.
The Board of Commissioners unanimously approved the law enforcement services memorandum of understanding with the Town of Baggs.
