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Commission approves county‑school funding split for two new student resource officers; budget adjustment approved
Summary
The Morgan County Commission voted March 18 to add two student resource officers and approved a mid‑year budget amendment to cover hiring, vehicles and equipment; the school district will reimburse roughly half the annual personnel cost.
The Morgan County Commission voted on March 18 to add two additional student resource officers (SROs) and approved a mid‑year budget adjustment to fund the hires, vehicles and equipment.
Commission staff said the county and Morgan School District have agreed to split the annual personnel cost roughly in half; the school district will reimburse the county $90,000 per officer per year (prorated for a partial year), according to staff. Commissioners approved a set of budget transfers allocating funds from the general fund balance into wage, benefits, vehicle lease/purchase and outfitting lines so the sheriff’s office can hire and equip the positions for the next school year.
The budget amendment included funds to lease or purchase two vehicles, initial outfitting of equipment, and wages and benefits for two deputy positions. County staff said some of the one‑time outfitting costs will be recurring on a vehicle replacement cycle and noted the county is trying to move fleet purchases from leases to ownership where possible. Commissioners discussed whether the county should request a formal written reimbursement commitment from the school district; staff said the district had verbally agreed to the split and would be expected to execute the normal intergovernmental reimbursement process.
Commissioners also noted the county would need to decide whether to fund the positions from recurring revenue going forward or to seek a sales‑tax or property‑tax adjustment during fall budget deliberations; several commissioners said a future revenue decision will be required to maintain the SRO program as an ongoing expense. The commission voted unanimously to approve the budget adjustments and the hiring plan so deputies can be trained and available at the start of the next school year.
Motion and vote: the commission approved the budget transfers and hiring authorization by voice vote. Commissioners also directed staff to work with the sheriff and the school district to finalize written cost‑share arrangements and to return with implementation details.
