Budget cuts imperil police
Contracting law enforcement duties to sheriff’s department said to be “off the table”
The Daily Mail
Nov. 10, 2009

CAIRO — The Town of Cairo could be left without a police force due to budget cuts.

Town Supervisor John Coyne said a budget of more than $200,000 proposed by Cairo Police Chief Chris Sprague was deemed too costly by the Town Board during a budget meeting.

“This has nothing to do with the officers’ ability to be police officers. It is strictly monetary,” Coyne said.

Coyne said Monday he spoke with Greene County Sheriff Greg Seeley last week about contracting police work to the sheriff’s department but the contract was now “off the table.”

Coyne said Sprague and his officers were able to decrease the proposed budget by more than more than $70,000, or roughly one-third of the original budget.

Coyne said the budget cut will affect officers’ shifts but not the services they provide. Officers, he said, would work 12-hour shifts rather than 16-hour shifts. Full-time officers would remain full-time and an officer will be on-duty at all times, he said.

Cairo Police would still be able to patrol streets, work crowd control at events and conduct other business as usual. The D.A.R.E. program for students at Cairo Elementary School and at Cairo-Durham High School would continue, he said.

The Town Board will consider the new budget amount at Thursday’s budget hearing at 7 p.m.

Seeley and Sprague were unavailable for comment about the contract and the proposed budget Monday.

Other department heads were asked to decrease their budgets during the last few weeks. For example, Highway Superintendent Steven Rumpf’s budget was cut by more than $40,000 during a workshop in late October.

Coyne said he would try to negotiate a contract with the Sheriff’s Department if the Board does not accept the department’s revised budget.