Wenatchee And East Wenatchee Will Share One Police Chief Starting September 1

The cities of Wenatchee and East Wenatchee are moving ahead with an interlocal agreement to share a police chief who will head both city police departments

The East Wenatchee City Council gave its unanimous approval Tuesday night, following the same unanimous support by the Wenatchee City Council last week. East Wenatchee Police Chief Rick Johnson will become joint chief effective September 1st

Rick Johnson, new Wenatchee/East Wenatchee Joint Police Chief

Wenatchee will fund 68% of the police chief's salary based on a cost-sharing formula negotiated between the two cities to account for the larger size of the Wenatchee Police Department force and other factors, including number of calls for service.

The agreement is cancellable with as little as 90 days' notice by either city and extends through 2027 on a trial basis. Each department will operate independently within their own jurisdictions other than in an emergency mutual response incident

The interlocal agreement proposal was introduced earlier this summer when Wenatchee Mayor Mike Poirier said his current police chief, Edgar Reinfeld, has emerged as the best candidate to serve as the permanent city administrator, a role he has filled on an interim basis while a nationwide search was conducted.

East Wenatchee Mayor Jerrilea Crawford has maintained the two cities viewed the proposal as a cost-saving measure for taxpayers by sharing department leadership and joined Mayor Poirier in refuting complaints that the interlocal agreement would lead to a merger of the two police forces.

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