The Trenton City Commission voted to move forward with its proposed cuts to public safety Monday night.
The commission approved the first reading of a budget amendment that would reduce the Trenton Department of Public Safety from a chief, an assistant, four full-time officers and four part-time officers to just a chief and an assistant.
The commission plans to use the money saved by cutting those positions to pay off a loan taken to complete a city-wide paving project.
At the last meeting, the commission expressed concern over legislation that would cut property taxes that municipalities can collect while forcing them to at least maintain their budget for public safety.
Those who attended the meeting were provided with a one-page summary outlining public safety funding in the City of Trenton.
The sheet stated Trenton residents pay $1,000,000 per year to Gilchrist County, some of which is used to fund the Gilchrist County Sheriff’s Office along with another $439,000 that goes to the city to fund public safety.
The sheet also provided crime statistics and call data for TDPS.
It said between January and October of this year, TDPS responded to 2,976 incidents. Only around 150, or 5 percent, were responses to serious crime, such as burglary, battery and domestic disturbances.
During the four-hour meeting, made up mostly of public comment, Trenton residents refuted the last point, saying the presence of Trenton police officers deterred serious crime in the community.
Many residents told the commission that they would be willing to pay more in taxes if it meant that public safety would not be cut.
Chief of Public Safety Matthew Rexroat said these cuts came as a surprise to him.
“Two months ago, I had no idea this would get wiped from beneath my legs,” Rexroat said.
He told the commissioners that the actual decision was whether they considered public safety an essential service. He added that public safety should be kept as is, or a referendum should be held so it can be cut entirely.
According to Trenton’s charter, it must retain a police chief. The only way they can cut that position is through a referendum voted on by Trenton residents.
Multiple Trenton business owners spoke at the meeting.
Paul Redd said the city should never have expanded after TDPS was reorganized similar to this planned reorganization.
Stoney Smith said Trenton was paying a lot of money for police services when the Sheriff’s Office could cover Trenton.
George Langford told the board he would have liked for the city to have a meeting with business owners to discuss options and that he would rather pay more taxes to be protected.
Residents were also concerned with the timeline for this budget amendment.
Doing this after budget season ended means it would be difficult for the Sheriff’s Office to hire more deputies to replace the officers that Trenton will lose.
Residents said this would mean Trenton would not have the same coverage and response time, as deputies may have to come from other areas in the county.
The commission was asked multiple times about other sources of funding, but City Manager Brittany Mills said the city had explored every possible funding source before deciding on reducing public safety funding.
Residents also stated their concerns about fire service, especially considering Trenton had just raised its fire assessment.
Jillian Rexroat said that cutting police would also have an affect on fire since the fire and police are combined under public safety.
She added that TDPS was the first to respond to a call in Branford recently.
The budget amendment reallocates nearly $286,000 from public safety to public works to pay for the paving loan.
The loan is $2.7 million dollars to be paid over 20 years at 4.875 percent interest.
Trenton resident Tara Trailer told the board, “this is a betrayal to your community.”
After around two hours of public comment and board discussion, Rexroat was asked for his thoughts.
He said he did not take the job for the title or money.
“I’m here to give these citizens what they want,” he said, “and that sounds like public safety.”
Commissioner Randy Rutter moved to approve the budget amendment, and commissioner Lucy Coleman seconded the motion.
The amendment passed by a 4-1 vote with Russel Williams casting the only “no” vote.
The commission was given options of Jan. 12, Jan. 31 and Feb. 28 for the last day for TDPS officers.
The board voted unanimously for Feb. 28.
Campbell had told them earlier in the meeting that the holidays were a bad time for first responders to find jobs because administrators are on planned vacations and municipalities hold fewer meetings during that time.
Funds for the paving project will not arrive until at least May.
The budget amendment requires a first and second reading to be finalized.
The second reading will be held at Trenton’s next meeting on Dec. 8