REDMOND – The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office officially consolidated its north-county offices in Terrebonne on Friday, but Redmond’s police chief joined the sheriff in saying the cost-saving move shouldn’t hurt law enforcement presence in the region.

The county’s Redmond substation, leased from a county-owned building at 7637 SW Cascade Ave., was moved to the Terrebonne office, located at 8222 N. Highway 97, beside Community First Bank, Sheriff Les Stiles said.

The new main office number in Terrebonne is the same as the one used previously in Redmond, 923-8270, and the fax number (548-7589) is unchanged. The substation will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Stiles cited two key reasons for the move. One is that the Terrebonne substation “gives the sheriff’s office increased visibility and greatly enhances the margin of public safety.”

“I believe it is critical for the sheriff’s office to be a central part of any community, and thus puts us in a position to operate more efficiently and more effectively,” the sheriff said.

“Also,” he said, “the move will help keep operation costs down. Rather than split the budget to support two substations in the northern end of the county, it makes better sense to combine the effort and relocate. We’ve got a win-win deal here – better service and a lower price tag.”

The sheriff said he consulted with the Redmond City Council and Police Chief Lane Roberts before making the final decision, assuring them there would be no reduction in deputy availability or services.

Redmond police chief supports switch

Roberts said Stiles attended a city council meeting two weeks ago and made a public presentation on the move out of a Redmond site that is just a block from the city’s downtown police station.

“I had an opportunity to assure the council it would have little or no impact on our working relationship or the availability of assistance” from the county, the police chief said Friday.

“Most of the time, when we need their assistance, it’s patrol-based, not office-based,” Roberts said.

“I think they are going to go down and make available law enforcement on a more immediate basis, and we can secure a deputy quickly, when the need arises,” the Redmond chief said. “He (Stiles) presented it very well (to the council). He had invested a significant amount of time with Terrebonne, us and others, so he knew fairly confidently he wasn’t causing us any grief.”

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