That is the rationale for an unprecedented $192 million public-safety bond that Salt Lake City voters will see Nov. 6. Police and fire officials argue the upgrades are long overdue. The longer the capital hedges, they say, the more the new buildings will cost - particularly since construction costs are ballooning by some 15 percent per year.

What's more, unless voters approve so-called Proposition 1, the city will have no place to game-plan for emergencies ranging from a future Trolley Square-type shooting to a Wasatch Front earthquake.

But critics wonder if the cops aren't asking the public pay for the whole Christmas tree. They suggest some of those lights - $50 million worth - could be trimmed if public-safety leaders partner with Salt Lake County to share existing facilities.

As it stands, the 20-year bond's annual cost for the owner of a $300,000 house is $175.

Police Chief Chris Burbank and fire chief Dennis McKone insist a county partnership plan is untenable. The reason: space and size.

Both men argue the county hubs either are too small or too far away - especially if an emergency erupted downtown.

That tune rings hollow for Salt Lake County Councilman Joe Hatch, who argues that kind of "parochial view" may end up costing capital residents big bucks.

"Why would they jeopardize getting a new public-safety building by adding all their pet bells and whistles on it?" Hatch asks. "That shows an arrogance. These guys are pretending they're from Chicago."

A Prop. 1 brochure points to the 9-11 terrorist attack, Hurricane Katrina, the Trolley Square shooting and the Destiny Norton abduction as motivation to better prepare.

"The simple fact is that our ability to serve is hampered by degraded and inadequate buildings," the PR pamphlet reads.

Police want a new downtown headquarters, on five acres of land, that would house police and fire administration as well as crime evidence and property. A separate Emergency Operations Center would incorporate 911 services, the Homeland Security division and critical communication systems.

In addition, the bond would cover a 40,000-square foot cop shop in Sugar House that would hold the police K-9 unit and add, for the first time, a police presence on the city's east side.

It also calls for a 45,000-square-foot fire station and fire-training center at 1560 S. Industrial Road on the city's west side. The facility - it would replace a city-owned WWII munitions center - would house classrooms for fire and medical services and training resources for coordinated fire, SWAT and hazardous-devices units.

"It fiscally makes sense," Burbank tells The Salt Lake Tribune editorial board. Even if police scrapped the east-side precinct, he said, similar costs would pile up by housing the officers and police dogs downtown.

"It's almost a Domino effect."

Burbank, who concedes the bond is "an astronomical number," notes construction still would be five to six years away.

"The longer we delay on this, the more impact it has on the city," the chief says, "and frankly, the more risk we're exposed to."

Still, Hatch maintains city officials are trying to boost votes for the bond - both on the east side and west side - by promising public-safety upgrades across the city.

"This is pork-barrel politics at its worst," he says. "Have you ever seen a bond initiative that has been so quiet, so hidden, so not discussed? It's such top-down nonsense. It's the pooh-bahs sitting in the ivory tower telling the public this is how it ought to be, and you need to vote for this mother of all bonds."

Instead, Hatch would prefer public-safety executives make a move under the new administration. He wonders why the fiscal question has unfolded under a lame-duck mayor and lame-duck City Council.

County officials suggest the city could cut costs by pursuing a retooled relationship with VECC, the Salt Lake Valley Emergency Communications Center, which has room to expand in West Valley City. And sharing resources at the county's fire center in Magna, they say, would solve the city's training needs and save taxpayers money.

"It's too far out," McKone, the fire chief, counters. "If I do have a major incident in Salt Lake City, it's too long coming in."

Fire Capt. Scott Winkler explains capital firefighters must focus more on urban tactics, including high-rise protection and hazardous-material concerns.

"Our downtown training needs are completely different than the county's," Winkler says.

To help promote the bond, Salt Lake City-based attorney Pat Shea has formed SAFE Coalition - Secure Against Future Events - that includes former mayors Deedee Corradini, Ted Wilson and Jake Garn. The new advocacy group is hoping to raise money and awareness for Prop. 1.

"It's an investment in Salt Lake City," Shea says. "That's what it's really all about."

A recent Deseret Morning News poll showed a narrow majority - 52 percent - of capital residents favor the bond.

Both mayoral candidates Ralph Becker and Dave Buhler support the bond, though Becker has questioned the price tag. Buhler made the motion on the City Council this summer to put the $192 million question on the ballot.

Price - given the cost of materials, inflation, and the expense of earthquake-proofing - will be substantial even is the project is scaled back.

Burbank estimates that without the Sugar House cop shop or west-side fire center, the new public-safety building alone will run $138 million.

But Hatch says even that number sounds bloated since the city refuses to share resources, both for communication and training.

"If they say they need to be absolutely autonomous from everybody else . . . there is an enormous price tag for that decision."

djensen@sltrib.com