Police Department Expanding: Council & Mayor Approve Budget Increases

    Central’s City Council voted 3-2 Tuesday night to spend $56,983 as the first step in increasing the size of what was until now an all-volunteer Police Department.  Mayor Shelton states that he will sign this funding into law “As soon as it is presented to me for signature.”
    Police Chief Salsbury revealed publicly for the first time at the meeting Tuesday his “Four and a Half Year Plan” for expanding the Police Department.  His plan calls for an additional 4 full time paid officers and 15 additional reserve officers by the end of his current term.  This plan would add approximately $250,000 per year to the budget, pushing it over a half million dollars per year.  
    While agreeing that public safety is important, Council Members Ellis and Messina requested that this vote be deferred for a short time to gather enough information to determine whether this expansion is a wise use of taxpayer dollars, and to provide the public sufficient time to review the plan and offer input.  Citizens opposing the ordinance questioned why there was such a rush to hire a paid Assistant Chief and encouraged the Council to do a complete study of Public Safety needs before committing to this expansion.  Council Members Evans, Fralick and Vance voted against the deferral and for the additional funding.
    A major objection to the ordinance came from Council Members and citizens who pointed out that no one has compiled the crime statistics for the City of Central to evaluate whether this expansion is justified.  Central taxpayers currently pay $1.82 million per year to the EBR Sheriff’s Office for primary law enforcement in the city.