Crockett Police Fully Staffed as City Council Works on Budget  

By Greg Ritchie

Messenger Reporter

Above picture – Crockett city council analyzes the priorities and possibilities for the city’s upcoming fiscal budget. 

CROCKETT –  The Crockett city council began the long process of fixing priorities and budgets for the next fiscal year at a meeting called to begin the process Monday, July 3. Before the budget workshop began, there was mixed news from the city’s first responders. 

Crockett Police Department (CPD) Chief Clayton Smith reported on the department’s activities during the month of May, reporting a total of 15 officers responding to 514 calls with 34 arrests and 272 traffic stops. The majority of the arrests were due to assault, with three arrests for burglary and two for possession of controlled substances. Smith reported to the city that for the first time in over six years, CPD is now fully staffed. Councilman Ernest Jackson asked Smith how morale was for the force now that their roster is full. 

“It’s amazing. After the fireworks show, we all met back here at the office in the control room…we were shoulder to shoulder. I can even take a picture of all of us and, as part of my five-year-plan, I can help sell a new station to the council,” Smith joked. “Morale is very high right now, because they’re not having to work as much and there’s a real good feeling at our police department.”

CPD needs those officers as recent events have shown – see related crime story in today’s newspaper. 

Crockett Fire Department (CFD) Chief Jason Frizzell then gave his report for the month of May, which included 34 total calls between the city of Crockett and support in the county, including 17 active members with a total of 315 volunteer man hours. 

Frizzell told the council CFD may look healthy on paper, but there are some big holes which need to be filled for the department to run more efficiently. 

“We’re running short of volunteers. I’ve got a total of 17 staff, but six are paid, nine are volunteers and one is part-time,” Frizzell said.  “We’re running slow during the day, because most of the volunteers can’t leave their jobs. At night, we’re pretty good. There are a couple of volunteers who show up in the day, but the rest of them are at their jobs and they can’t leave to come help.”

Frizzell explained his first line is solid, but the volunteers help flesh out the back-up which can be critical in dangerous situations. 

“The first truck that rolls down, you have a driver and a paid firefighter there – but we rely on outlying departments and they’re in the same predicament we’re in,” Frizzell explained. “My biggest safety concern is actually having what’s required: when there’s a structure fire, there are two firefighters inside and the safety team on the outside, which we call the ‘red team.’ They go in and rescue the inside team if they get trapped or something. Our concern is getting enough people on the scene to actually do the job when an emergency arises.”

CFD could use your help, please read related story in today’s edition. 

The council then settled in to the business at hand, with City Administrator John Angerstein taking the council through the numbers, from tax and grant revenues to spending for both set expenses, road and infrastructure wishlists, payment of debts and “rainy day” funds. 

Angerstein pointed out servicing the city’s debt is a tiny fraction of the overall budget. 

“That debt budget is currently set for $451,477,” Angerstein pointed out. “We have a budget of a little over $11 million. It’s actually closer to 12, with some extra grants and things like that. Out of an almost $12 million budget, we have roughly $450,000 in debt payment.”

The council discussed again the need for a professional grant writer to join the city to take advantage of the many grants available to Crockett, but to make sure everything is submitted correctly and on time, as tiny mistakes can make the city lose the funding opportunity. 

The council also discussed tightening policies on utility payments, making landlords responsible, even for rental properties. Renters put water in their own names, but abandon the property and the the city is often left without a trail to find them to seek payment. The council discussed how landlords could seek a deposit to cover utilities for new renters to make sure the city does not miss out on these funds. 

Angerstein told the council the city will not have any deficits, but there will be little money for extra projects or emergencies. The city addressed salaries already this year, putting into place a more organized system for employees to be evaluated on a graduated pay scale they can work for. Also, it was pointed out the health insurance policy cost has increased again, another expense the city cannot control. 

The council was left with a good bit of homework and studying to do. The council is only able to control a certain amount of the budget and the questions were: what budget will be set for streets and which streets should be prioritized? Angerstein urged each council member to decide the priorities for street repair in their areas. He said this is up to them how to make those determinations – based on their own perception, based on comments from residents, or based on other criteria they determine. Several council members expressed interest in traveling their precincts with city employees who know the details of past construction and what would need to be done.

The second question was how to fund the city’s proposed animal shelter. The city purchased the former veterinarian clinic on South Fourth Street but funding is not yet in place to care for animals long term.

The last question was concerning the city swimming pool and how to budget for the recurring costs of that project. The council is working on these ideas and set to return to the next meeting with more concrete proposals for discussion. 

Greg Ritchie can be reached at [email protected]