Tontitown, Elm Springs police to renew mutual aid agreement through 2034

NORTHWEST ARKANSAS ( KNWA/KFTA ) — The Tontitown and Elm Springs police departments plan to renew a 10-year contract that will allow for interlocal mutual aid between the two departments.

The interlocal mutual aid agreement states that each part- and full-time officer of both Tontitown and Elm Springs will be sworn in as a “non-salaried and unpaid police officer” of the other’s department. The agreement is designed to “benefit the citizens of both cities by increasing the effectiveness of their personnel and equipment assets,” it states.

“We’ll take a call in Tontitown and we’ll hold a call until Tontitown gets there,” Police Chief Jason Hiatt of Elm Springs said. “We try to let them handle their things, and they try to let us handle ours. But, just in case officers are busy or tied up on other things, we can step in and help each other out completely.”

This is set to be a renewal of a contract that was first instituted in 2013. The two cities are expected to put in a 10-year contract that is set to expire in 2034.

The agreement states that each department will “provide all necessary training and equipment” and “pay all salary, expenses, benefits, workers compensation and other financial requirements” of its respective officers.

It also states the Tontitown and Elm Springs police chiefs will meet bi-annually to “review and evaluate the effectiveness” of the agreement.

Hiatt has been with the Elm Springs Police Department since 2000 — 13 years before the first mutual aid agreement — and has served as the chief since 2007.

“A lot of times we had gap coverage at night,” Hiatt said. “We wouldn’t have anybody out, and so, when a resident called, the officer would have to get up, get dressed and respond.”

Elm Springs currently has six officers to Tontitown’s 18. Despite the growth in both departments in recent years, Hiatt said both still utilize the mutual aid “several times a week.”

Hiatt said one of the bigger instances when Tontitown stepped in to help was during a homicide a few years back, in addition to everyday car wrecks.

However, Elm Springs’ department is there to return the favor as well.

“I can recall just in the last three months, two of my personal cases that essentially Elm Springs solved for me with the identity of suspects and the location of vehicles,” Keith Lindley, a detective with the Tontitown Police Department, said.

Lindley said the two departments have a “really good working relationship” that they’ve built over time from serving on calls together. He said the two departments are like “neighbors” and each knows one another’s ways they want to police, which he said is helpful.

Lindley said the proximity between the two cities makes the agreement worthwhile.

“It’s like having an incredibly helpful neighbor that is willing to mow your lawn or rake your leaves when you’re out of town on vacation,” Lindley said.

Lindley said if there’s a downside to the mutual aid agreement, he doesn’t “know what it would be.”

Hiatt said if Tontitown wasn’t an option to respond to calls, Elm Springs would lean on the Springdale Police Department or county sheriffs, which he said would result in longer response times.

Hiatt said this agreement can give some comfort to the public.

“Even something kind of insignificant, you don’t want to have to wait an hour and a half, two hours for an officer,” Hiatt said. “Just having someone that can readily respond to just be there and let you know, ‘Hey, we’re getting this taken care of.’ There’s some assurance to that.”

When the contract expires in 2034, Hiatt expects the two cities to renew the agreement again.

You can read the entire agreement here.

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