This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
West Bountiful last month parted company with Police Chief Randy Lloyd. He had been chief for five years.
"There was no incident or reason he was let go," said Mayor Ken Romney. "We were looking for a chief who would take some patrol shifts as well" — possibly two per week.
Lloyd, who earned a four-year degree in Criminal Justice from Weber State University, retired from West Valley City's police force before coming to work for West Bountiful in April 2006. He was making an annual salary of $87,112 when he left in May. Lloyd served the city well, Romney said.
"It's been several years since he worked patrol shifts," Romney said. "In my discussions with him, he didn't want to do that. I have great respect for him but we chose to go a different direction."
Lloyd could not be reached for comment.
The small south Davis County city of 5,265 residents is cash-strapped like so many other municipalities, with current employees being asked to do more.
"In trying to cover our 24-hour shifts, if an officer is sick or goes on vacation, someone has to work an extra shift," Romney said.
Due to revenue shortfalls, the city trimmed its full-time staff from 25 to 20 employees over a two-year period. One of those slots is a police officer position that will remain vacant, he said.
Officer John Rasmussen will serve as interim chief. In addition to Rasmussen, West Bountiful has six other patrol officers and a detective, Romney said.
Earlier this year, the city considered consolidating law enforcement services with North Salt Lake and Woods Cross.
"We looked at the logistics and the budget side of it," Romney said. "You should see some economies of scale and the numbers didn't show that — so we backed out."
The chief's position will be advertised soon, and Romney expects to fill it this summer.
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