The Newport council may hire more staff, including a school resource officer. | Stock Photo
The Newport council may hire more staff, including a school resource officer. | Stock Photo
The Newport council may hire additional city workers, such as a school resource officer (SRO) and fire department personnel, as talks about the fiscal year 2020-2021 budget continued, the Carolina Coast Online reported.
The official budget was finalized as a recent budget meeting, which was the latest in a series of meetings about the spending plan, the Carolina Coast reported on June 3. The public can view previous meetings on Zoom. The key argument seems to be the budget over an SRO.
Town Manager Bryan addressed the possibility of a new school resource officer from the police department’s budget for local schools and said via email, “If its recommended, the budgeted amount would be approximately $8,000. The rest would be grant-funded,” Carolina Coast Online reported.
Still, members of the council hadn’t yet agreed on if the city should increase the funding for an SRO, the Carolina Cosat reported. Councilman Mark Eadie said he believes that the Carteret County Board of Education is the party that owes that duty to students.
“However, I’m not opposed to Newport going above and beyond for all the citizens, whether incorporated or unincorporated," he said, the Carolina Coast reported.
At the same time, councilman David Heath said he’s not convinced the city should extend money for an SRO.
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