By Loyd McIntosh, For The Tribune
CENTER POINT — The Center Point City Council discussed and took issues with several points outlined in a proposed contract from the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department during the Center Point City Council meeting Thursday evening.
In a brief meeting held at the Center Point Community Center while the City Hall Building undergoes mold abatement, several members of the City Council voiced their concern about a new agreement put forth by Jefferson County Sheriff Mark Pettway to continue offering police services in Center Point. According to Center Point Mayor Bobby Caldwell, the main sticking point is a request by Pettway for all municipalities to sign the same agreement with the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department.
“While (Pettway) did say that he had no issues with much of the items that we require, I think his main thing was he wanted all of the cities in the county to sign the same contract,” Caldwell said. “That’s what I got from it. It’s not that he had an issue with community policing or patrolling neighborhoods; he just wanted all of the municipalities to have the same contract.”
The request caused some raised eyebrows among several City Council members
“I don’t believe that every municipality should have the same contract because every municipality doesn’t have the same needs or issues,” Place 5 Councilmember Ebonee Copeland said.
Caldwell said he met with Pettway and Jefferson County Chief Deputy Willie Hill for 90 minutes on Wednesday, August 31, working to develop a framework for the county to continue providing police services in Center Point.
“We have a lot of requests, and we have busy weeks sometimes, and we want to make sure that when residents call that cars are there,” Caldwell said.
Center Point’s most recent contract expired in April, and the city has been receiving services from the Sheriff’s department on a month-to-month basis. The newest proposal from Jefferson County is a three-year contract that would increase Center Point’s financial obligations from $51,000 per month to $53,500 per month.
However, Caldwell said during the work session earlier this week, Pettway indicated that the costs may continue to rise as the Sheriff’s Department struggles to recruit and retain qualified officers, pay for fuel, and other costs.
“They’re having a hard time keeping deputies as well as making sure that they’re not coming to the department and then leaving the department for better wages,” said Caldwell. “So I kind of understand that, but the council, this being their first term, want to make sure that the residents know that they’ve been listening to them, and they want to have that accountability in there.”
“The council is very concerned about requests from the residents and what the residents are looking for, so we want to make sure that there is a way that we can have some accountability from the department,” Caldwell said. “I’m sure it will get solved.”
Caldwell indicated that Pettway has agreed to address the Center Point Council to discuss the current proposal at a future city council meeting.