ECHO - Surprising City Council members, the majority of residents who attended a town hall meeting Wednesday evening said they were in favor of the city contracting with Stanfield for police service.
About two dozen residents attended the meeting.
Echo has contracted with the Umatilla County Sheriff's Office for more than a decade for its police protection, paying for 112 hours of police protection per month. The Sheriff's Office reduced those hours recently because of a shortage of deputies on the west end of the county.
As a result, council members floated the idea of contracting with the Stanfield Police Department, an idea which met strong disapproval from residents when it was first broached in 2003.
Wednesday evening, however, residents told the council they had changed their minds.
"I'm in favor of, I hate to say it, but I'm in favor of Stanfield," Dennis Fisher said. "I'm getting tired of the people down the street who are doing drugs. I'm getting tired of my street being used as a race track.
"I don't know if Stanfield is going to be any better, but I'm tired of the sheriff's excuses."
David Pedro said he wanted more police presence in town.
"I'm hoping Stanfield will be out of the office a hell of a lot more than the county is," he said.
While supporting a contract with Stanfield, residents were wary of how the police department would deal with speeding - something they said needed to be curtailed in town but not by "speed traps."
Councilor Pasquale Anolfo said he would organize a direct link to the Stanfield Police Department so residents would have a clearinghouse for concerns if they ever thought the police weren't dealing with them fairly.
"I believe we'll get satisfaction in that regard," he said, adding: "They have an image problem, but we do, too."
A contract with the Stanfield Police Department would cost the city about $2,000 more than continuing the contract with the sheriff's office, but council members said they hope the department would be more accessible.
The City Council will meet tonight at 7 p.m. to discuss whether or not to take a proposal to Stanfield to work out the details.
Once negotiations are complete, the city will need to give 60-day notice to the sheriff's office ending that contract.
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