The Decatur Board of Aldermen met Wednesday, where officials from the police department were on hand to explain proposals for take-home vehicles to be added to next year’s police department budget.
Police Chief Clay Garvin explained to the board that they’re requesting the budget to be increased to include five take-home vehicles for five full-time officers. Mayor Max Anderson said that he understood that the increase that they’re looking at is an attempt to keep good law enforcement because there doesn’t seem to be a lot of young people entering law enforcement today.
“That’s the main thing we’re trying to do-keep the officers that we have now,” said Garvin. “The only other place around here that does what we’re requesting is Bay Springs, and they don’t hardly have any turnover. And if they do have turnover, they get an officer hired pretty quick. We’re just essentially trying to catch our officers up to inflation and trying to maintain what we’ve got.”
Assistant chief Ryan Oakley said that after calculating each officer’s mileage round trip from police department to home, the average of last year’s patrolling mileage, estimated gas usage for the years at $3.50 per gallon (Worst case scenario), and an extra service visit for each car for the year, he shows that they would be over budget by $950,28. But with a 10% raise in the fuel budget, that would be more than enough to cover it.
Garvin said that while it’s a perk, take home vehicles would also be a benefit to the department. “There’s been times we’ve been here and had to call other officers in and have to wait on them to drive up in a personal car,” he said.
Garvin added that vehicle use outside of patrolling would be only to go straight home and straight to the police department. “I’ve explained to everybody that if we get take-home cars and someone gets caught abusing it, you guys can take that away from us just as quickly.”
Mayor Anderson said that the board would have a work session at some point in August, where they can get together, look at things, and crunch the numbers for next year’s budget. He added that members of the board may want to talk to Garvin and Oakley one-on-one about their proposals and numbers before the work session.
In other news from the meeting:
• Approved the minutes from the June meeting.
• Approved sending a Violation of Ordinance letter to the owner of an evacuated home at 36 S. Sixth Avenue, after citizens came forward asking the board for their help in getting the property cleaned up.
• Approved amending the budget for the Fire and Street Department.
• Approved the lowest bid of $564,645 from Suncoast Infrastructure Inc. for the Sewer Improvement contract that will reline and refurbish the sewer lines and manholes to the lagoon to the east side of Decatur.
• Discussed complaints from citizens about a resident located at 215 N. Fifth Avenue that has multiple cats and kittens on the property, some that need medical attention, and provides no food or water for them. Mayor Anderson said he would try contacting the resident.
• Was presented two quotes from Chief Garvin for car cameras to be considered for purchase in the next budget. The cameras would work in conjunction with the body cameras that the department currently uses. One quote was for $58,330.80 and includes installation, service, and warranty for five years. The second quote was for $73,926.60, but at the end of the five-year warranty, they would install brand new cameras, the warranty could be extended for another five years, and the price to service the cameras would be $6,000-$7,000 for the next five years..
• Approved allowing Chief Garvin to apply for a T-Mobile grant through the town’s name. The $50,000 grant is awarded every quarter, to which Garvin wants to apply for the grant to pay towards the car cameras.
• Approved paying JP’s Excavation $2,500 for the rock, dirt, and labor to replace the culvert on S. Railroad Street.
