Back on June 17, Judge-Executive Kevin Neal proposed a plan to create a new agency to oversee SROs, and believed there was enough money to hire eleven officers rather than eight, with some schools being required to share officers. The plan would have allowed an officer at every school, including three at the high school.
Commissioners and many members of the public had scrutinized Neal's plan, and indicated their support for current SROs, who probably would not have been retained under Neal's plan.
The current plan was implemented in 2018, and many involved in the program have agreed that it is working as it is, with many saying, "if it ain't broke, why fix it?"
After discussion, Commissioners agreed to keep the SROs under the Sheriff's Department and its budget. Marshall County Sheriff Eddie McGuire has worked with commissioners to trim as much of his budget as possible so it could happen. Commissioner Kevin Spraggs previously told West Kentucky Star that the salaries of the three additional officers will be covered by McGuire's cuts, funding found by commissioners, and an increase in the budget of approximately $30,000.
During Tuesday morning's specially called meeting, commissioners voted on and approved the budget, retaining the current SRO program, including funding for three additional officers.
Following the meeting, Commissioner Monti Collins released the following statement on the budget:
I am very proud to say we passed the 20/21 budget today with a 4-0 vote. I want to thank all of the department heads for all of the time spent with me either in person or on the phone for countless hours over the last few months. I know however much time they spent with me, they spent at least that much if not more with the Judge's office, Treasurer's office, and the other Commissioners. I'm certain that a few of the meetings looked contentious and they were at times, but we are not always going to agree with each other. But in the end, we were able to compromise and come to an agreement and that is what is most important. No full time positions were lost, we made cuts where we had to, but found a way to make those cuts in the best way possible where essential services could continue uninterrupted. I am proud to be a Commissioner on this Fiscal Court and proud of this county. I also want to thank you for reaching out to me to give me your thoughts on specific items in the budget. I read each and every message and tried to reply to all of them. Please don't hesitate to email me in the future at monti.collins@marshallcountyky.gov or you can call me at (270) 703-2850.
You can see the meeting below.
On the Net:
Marshall Fiscal Court Keeps School Officer Funding
