MOUNT VERON — Mount Vernon Police Chief Robert Morgan outlined a proposal to create a new School Resource Officer (SRO) position dedicated to St. Vincent de Paul School at Monday night’s city council meeting.
The school approached the department about a full-time SRO, and the two sides have been working through the contract details.
“St. Vincent is excited about it,” Morgan said. “We did tell them we would like a minimum of three-year commitment. We haven’t hammered that out yet, but they agreed to the minimum of three and are possibly willing to go up to five.”
However, Morgan said the first step is to create a position for the SRO within the department. Council members waived the third reading and approved adding an additional position, increasing staffing to 23 officers.
St. Vincent will pay 75 percent of the SRO’s estimated $100,000 cost, which includes hourly rate, insurance, pension, and other benefits.
“Currently, the cap is $75,000 a year for [the school], so if it goes to $76,000, we do pick that up. But right now that’s what we’re working with,” the chief said.
However, he said as costs increase in the future, the city can negotiate a higher price with the school.
If St. Vincent decides not to renew the SRO contract in three years, Morgan said the department would either absorb the cost and assign the officer to other duties as the department grows or potentially face a layoff.
“I don’t ever foresee that [layoff] happening, but those are the options,” Morgan said.
An additional officer aligns with future growth
A school resource officer works nine months for the school and three months for the Mount Vernon Police Department during summer break.
That individual fills in as a patrol officer who can work community events, and cover for vacations.
Mount Vernon City Schools and the Knox County Career Center contract with the city for an SRO in the middle and high schools.
Mount Vernon schools cover 50 percent, and the career center and city each cover 25 percent of the cost.
Councilman Taylor Jacklin questioned whether, in light of the city council’s recent authorization of $29 million in bonds for the new police station, the department has closely examined its current staffing levels.
“Have we looked at existing officers to make sure that we have an efficiency of force, and we can’t just move somebody to that position?” he asked.
Morgan said he cannot assign a current officer to the new SRO role without shorting one of the other positions in the department.
He also said the new position falls within the department’s growth plan.
“As the city of Mount Vernon grows, as our revenues grow, our calls for service are going to grow, the Mount Vernon Police Department is going to have to scale to that growth as well,” Morgan said.
Safet-Service Director Tanner Salyers acknowledged Jacklin’s question but also noted that funding for the police station and an additional SRO comes from different revenue streams.
The chief said a COPS (Community Oriented Policing System) grant could cover up to $125,000 for three years.
“There’s $158 million up for grabs, so we stand a decent chance. It’s a very competitive grant, but even if they give us something, it would also help offset this,” he said.
