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Council votes to continue SRO program; councilmember questions why MOU was removed from public website
Summary
The city authorized the mayor to approve a memorandum of understanding to continue the school resource officer (SRO) program with Decatur City Schools. A councilmember questioned why an earlier MOU was removed from the city's website and raised concerns about clarity of cost‑sharing and details on SRO deployment.
The Decatur City Council voted 3‑0 to authorize the mayor to approve a memorandum of understanding to continue the School Resource Officer (SRO) program with Decatur City Schools (Resolution 25‑1‑12).
During the agenda‑related comments period, Councilmember Farooqi asked why an earlier version of the SRO MOU (Resolution 25‑67 as referenced in the premeeting materials) had been removed from the city's website. Farooqi said the earlier document contained details — such as how many SROs would be assigned and where they would be located — that the school system and the police chief preferred not to publish. "The real concern I had originally was the cost sharing, and that does not require any type of offset concern. It's just how much is the city of Decatur going to pay for through the police department for this, and how much is the cost sharing going to be with the 50 percent 50 each," Farooqi said.
Staff and council discussion confirmed the MOU authorizes continuation of the SRO program; the council did not change the MOU in open session. The council approved the authorization to the mayor (Resolution 25‑1‑12) by unanimous vote. No ordinance or statutory citation was presented in the discussion; details such as exact headcount, specific school assignments, and operational protocols were described in staff briefing as matters coordinated with the school system and not released on the website at the time.
Clarifying details: the council member stated cost sharing would be 50/50 between the city and the school system as a matter of concern; the staff explanation given in the premeeting indicated some operational details were withheld from public posting at the school district’s request or for security/operational reasons. The meeting record shows the council approved the measure to allow the mayor to sign the MOU; no change or amendment to the contract text was recorded in the public meeting.
Next steps: the mayor is authorized to execute the MOU to continue the SRO program; councilmembers indicated they or future councils could request additional details from the school system or police department if needed.
