BY ISAIAH FRIZZELL
While Sun Valley hosted the prestigious Audi FIS Ski World Cup Finals from March 22 to 27, marking the culmination of the alpine ski racing season, the 5850 Fest, a live music, culinary and wellness festival, ran concurrently, posing a unique challenge for new Blaine County Sheriff Morgan Ballis and the Blaine County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO).
While Ballis weathered the storm in fine fashion, these events offered him and the BCSO a fresh look at public safety and how it is funded.
“These events were unique, not just because of the influx of people, but due to international media coverage,” said Ballis. “Additionally, we were on the heels of a nationally covered vehicle-ramming attack as well as a recent bomb threat to the Limelight Hotel.”
What Did BCSO Response Cost?
Ballis reported his deputies worked a total of 1,058 regular hours between the event itself and prior planning.
Overtime hours for the event totaled 1,172.25 hours encompassing county, detention, and Ketchum deputies as well as training for the Mountain Strike Team. The total cost for these hours was $63,622.65.
Ballis said the overtime hours would be covered by ‘current vacancies,’ and should not impact the current budget, explaining, “I inherited a budget that did not consider the financial burden of the World Cup. The five vacancies during this period will offset the overtime costs. However, we anticipate our patrol teams to be fully staffed in the next three months, something that hasn’t happened in years. These funds will not be available in the future.”
Nuts and Bolts
How can vacancies be used to supplement overtime?
“Salaries, wages, and overtime all fall within the A budget as individual line items,” said Ballis. “If we go beyond what is allocated for overtime in a fiscal year, funds can be taken from what was allocated from wages on a vacant position. At the end of the fiscal year, overtime may be over what was budgeted but the entire A budget can be under due to vacancies.”
Ballis offers this information as he believes public scrutiny of public safety funds is warranted and those costs must be shared in the future but wanted to highlight the human element behind the numbers.
“Many deputies worked seven to 10 days straight and upwards of 90 hours during the operational period during spring break. I want to specifically recognize our BCSO families for their personal sacrifice allowing deputies to provide the highest level of safety to our Valley at the expense of their loved ones.”
Great duty requires sacrifice as well as smart planning and expert use of resources—something Ballis has consistently shown innovation and conscientious attention for and has the numbers to back it up.
Taxpayers Funded All This?
“We are committed to fiscal responsibility. Our taxpayers should not be fully subsidizing private companies with public safety funds,” Ballis stated.
Ballis’ recommendations included seeking additional funding from Sun Valley Company, 5B Productions, and the municipalities to cover overtime costs. Ballis also stressed the need to budget for additional overtime hours during future events.
Prior to the World Cup, BCSO signed Memorandums of Understanding (MOU) with the Sun Valley Police Department, Hailey Police Department and the Bellevue Marshal’s Office.
ISP provided 17 troopers conducting 430 traffic stops, issuing 220 infractions, giving 200 warnings, and making 10 misdemeanor arrests. The increased presence was felt throughout the Valley with some residents feeling it was too much, prompting Commissioner Angenie McCleary to ask Ballis what message this sends. “The message is, don’t drink and drive,” Ballis replied.
Ballis said, “Our increased presence and the support of ISP and local agencies correlated to the low-number DUIs.” There were 11 DUIs during the week of the World Cup. “This was far less than we anticipated,” according to Ballis. “We greatly appreciate the support of our local, state and federal partners. This allowed us to maintain our normal level of service while increasing event safety.”
Intelligent Design
On April 22, Sheriff Ballis updated the Blaine County Commissioners on the financial impact of the World Cup for BCSO. During the eight-day operational period, Ballis commanded 112 assets as the Law Enforcement Unified Commander. These assets represented 13 different agencies, including local, state and federal partners. Ballis oversees the Blaine County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO) and the Ketchum Police Department (KPD) through a contract with the City of Ketchum. Deputies worked a total of 1,058 regular hours between the event itself and planning prior.
Ballis explained, “Many of our deputies moved from one event to the other based on needs and assignments. As a result, we do not have specific numbers for the cost for each event; however, we can determine a general number allowing us to negotiate with each organization separately.” Ballis continued, “This was a key takeaway, and we plan to track this information on a daily basis in the future, rather than pulling reports at the end.”
Off to an excellent start, the new sheriff was thrown a curveball and with his team at BCSO and help from ISP and the Mountain Strike Team, knocked it out of the park.
