City signs deal with Sheriff; Proclaims April for Child Abuse Awareness

The Clarendon City Council ratified a new contract with the Donley County Sheriff’s Office during its regular meeting last Thursday, March 14.

The vote closes out about 11 months of haggling between the city and county, leaves in place the current fiscal year’s contract, and implements a new five-year deal between the two entities.

Under the terms of the agreement, which was also approved by county commissioners last Monday, the city will pay the county $170,000 for law enforcement services in fiscal year 2025, which starts October 1.

The cost will then go up 2.0 percent each year through fiscal year 2029.

Mayor Pro-tem Larry Jeffers said he was glad the city “at least got some negotiation” and noted that at one point the county wanted a contract for $180,000.

Alderman Tommy Hill said he still wants to see the county do more on its support of the Burton Memorial Library and asked for that matter to be on a future city agenda.

In other city business, Mayor Pro-tem Jeffers issued a proclamation naming April as Child Abuse Awareness Month in Clarendon. CASA of the High Plains representative Nita Williamson accepted the proclamation on CASA’s behalf and said that in 2023 there were 17 cases of child abuse or neglect reported in Donley County.

Street closures in front of City Hall were approved for the Community Egg Hut on March 23 and the Chance Mark Jones Roar & Run 5K on April 27.

A request by Christ’s Kids Outreach Ministries for $1,000 was also approved.

The council discussed the possibly budget savings of closing the municipal court and contracting with the Justice of the Peace for those services.

It was noted that most of the court’s budget is actually attorney’s fees paid by the city and not the cost of employing the judge or running the court. No action was taken.

An amendment was approved to the city employee handbook governing per diem expenses, and also a waiver was granted by the city council to WTG Fuels, LLC, regarding certain restrictions in an industrial zone.