03/28/2024
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By: Erin Smith

BladenboroBudgetThe Bladenboro Town Board met on Tuesday for a budget work session and police department salaries and equipment needs topped the evening’s discussion.

Town Clerk Melanie Hester presented the proposed budget to the board at the May 9 meeting. On Tuesday, she directed the board members to the section of their budget packets that discussed the salary and classifications for town employees.

The board had expressed a desire earlier in the year to look at the salaries and classifications for the police department. Hester called the board’s attention to the section discussing police department salaries. She pointed out that one officer is currently completing his probationary period and at the end of one year, that officer’s salary will be about $30,000.

She told the board members that “basically, with the step and grade like it is now, a new recruit with no experience at one year of service will be making $30,0000.”

Councilman Cris Harrellson noted that when he compared the current step and grade to Chadbourn, the salaries are similar.

“I know we talked about it (the police department salary scale) back when we lost an officer. We discussed it then and we said if we were going to do it, we would do it at budget time,” said Mayor Rufus Duckworth.

Hester told the board that the candidate pool of younger police officers is getting low and that Basic Law Enforcement Technology program enrollments are low.

“The way the nation is and the way the police have been treated, less people are going into that line of work,” said Hester.

Harrelson asked if it would be feasible for the town to do a pay study and Hester answered that in order to a detailed pay study, the town would need to hire an outside consultant.

Harrelson asked if the town has method whereby they recognize an officers training, level of education and experience in determining their salary scale.

Hester explained that there are different degrees that an officer can obtain and there are ladders in place for the officer to move from one level to another as they obtain more training, education and work experience.  She said there are levels that officers can aspire to obtain.

Councilman Billy Ray Benson said, “We can’t compare to Elizabethtown. We can’t compare with the Sheriff’s Office. We can’t compare with Lumberton. They (the officers) can’t advance as quick (in Bladenboro). I’ve seen them come and go.”

Mayor Duckworth said, “I want to keep good officers.”

The board reached the consensus to allow employees to receive a one percent cost of living adjustment but to leave the pay and classification scale the same.

Hester told the board that the health insurance rate for the town actually wen town .05 percent and the town is still with the grandfathered Blue Cross and Blue Shield plan.

Hester also discussed the proposed changes to the water and sewer rates and the garbage fees.

Hester told the board that by the town rebidding the garbage fees, Waste Industries came back with a lower rate. She also is proposing a two percent increase in the water and sewer rates.

“We didn’t raise water rates last year,” said Hester.

She told the board she is also proposing doing away with the graduated tiers. Hester explained to the board that on a grant application, the town actually loses points for the graduated tiers.

Hester told the board that even with the proposed water and sewer rate increase, residents will actually see about a $2 reduction in their bill.

She said there are also some one time expenditures in the proposed budget. Hester said that the air conditioning unit is not working properly at the maintenance shop and the police department is requesting $975 for a half-cage for a prisoner to fit one patrol car. The department is also requesting five new radar guns.

Hester told the board that the radar guns are needed because the state will no longer accept in court the type of radar guns the police department is currently using beginning in June 2017. She also told the board that the one’s currently being used are getting more difficult to calibrate.

Mayor Duckworth asked, “Do we really need five?”

Councilman Benson asked why Police Chief Chris Hunt needed to be radar certified.

Town Administrator John O’Daniel explained that currently the police department tis understaffed. He said ideally, the department would have six officers. But without those men, Chief Hunt is having patrolling along with his officers, said O’Daniel.

“We’ve got to look at it and see if we really need the training. I’d love to see all of them qualified but as tight as we need to be, we need to look at it,” said Benson.

“Do you not want the officers fully equipped?” asked O’Daniel.

“For the record, I don’t think any of us are saying we don’t want our officers to enforce the law,” said Harrelson.

Councilman Sarah Jane Benson said, “If they are going to utilized properly, I say get two and let them share.”

After further discussion it was consensus to for Hester to obtain information comparing the pricing for the purchase of three radar guns versus five and a half prisoner cage (seats one person) versus a full prisoner cage (seats two).

Councilman Patsi Callihan said, “I think they all need to be qualified. All of the offices need to radar qualified. You never what can happen.”

Other times in the budget inlaced a finishing mower for the street department; rappers to equipment at the fire department; the purchase of a camera for the water operations. Hester said by purchasing a camera for the water and sewer department, the town staff can divide the town into quadrants and use the camera to inspect the lines for inflow and infiltration.

Hester said that as they locate areas where they have inflow and infiltration, town staff began to create a plan of action on who to correct those problems.

“It will give us an idea where we need to make repairs or do slip lining,” said Hester.

Hester said the town has completed the community building project and the fire station project. she said there is $17,892 for the parks. She said she has not transferred that to the parks account.

The board will take up the proposed budget again at their regular meeting on Monday, June 13.

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