Because of the way you responded, I can’t quote you quoting my quote. But:
1) Our “small” departments may have three guys on shift at any given time. The biggest one in my half of the district, in the city where I work, has three six-person shifts when they’re at full staffing (they haven’t been for a while), plus another four detectives. The Sheriff’s Offices tend to be larger. The department with the six-year captain I mentioned has nine on patrol including the sergeant, him, the chief, and I believe three or four reserves.
2) Cost of living is absolutely lower around here, that’s true, and that helps these people. It’s really still not enough - particularly for what they’re expected to do. I won’t say most, but many officers seem to have side gigs. As an example, a group of detectives has a lawncare business with a funny name that makes them far more than their salaries do.
3) I do think the smaller agency guys get to do things bigger agency guys don’t get to do, sooner in their careers, simply out of necessity. I see that in my own career - we’re a smaller office, and so I was assigned the sort of work that my peers in bigger jurisdictions wouldn’t be touching for years. And that’s a tangible benefit. Another perspective on that is that some of those smaller departments have derisively been referred to as field training departments for that reason, and many officers’ employment there lasts about that long.
4) I guess the point I was making - not well - about the biggest budget item/not getting the cops you’re paying for thing is that while these folks seem woefully underfunded, is throwing money at the problem really the solution? The six-year captain department does a hell of a job with what they’ve got, but if they need more, they’re leaning on the county to help out or, if it’s an appropriate problem, our state-level investigative agency. I don’t have the answer there.
I have a lot of bitches about the small town police departments as should be obvious. Don’t take that as me wanting the State to come in with the (state) State Police, or even the county Sheriff to take over, because I actually don’t (there is state involvement I’d like to see, but it’s on the training/professionalization side). At the end of the day it’s the quality of the officer that makes the difference, as you said, and for the most part I’m dealing with motivated people who live in and care about the communities they police, despite the disadvantages they face.