City okays new contract with sheriff’s office

The Clarendon City Council approved a new contract for law enforcement services during the city’s first virtual meeting last Thursday, April 9.

Amid concerns about the COVID-19 virus, city officials organized their regular meeting over Skype, with each alderman, the mayor, and other officials meeting over webcams and electronic devices from their homes or offices.

The meeting was available to the public through a live feed on The Clarendon Enterprise’s Facebook page.

After several months of negotiations, the city approved a three-year contract with the Donley County Sheriff’s Department, which takes effect when the current contract expires at the end of the fiscal year. The cost of the contract is fiscal year 2021 will be $161,182 and will increase 1.5 percent each year after that. The present contract ran for five years and included a 2.0 percent increase per year.

City officials also approved financial reports as part of the council’s consent agenda. It was noted that city finances are in good shape now but utility usage is dropping with the college and public school not operating as usual. Sales tax revenue is also expected to take a hit in the coming months.

The aldermen reviewed the city’s amended disaster declaration for the COVID-19 crisis and made no changes to that document.

The council took no action on appointing a person to fill a vacant spot on the economic development board, deferring to that board to make a recommendation.

In his report, City Administrator David Dockery said the city had negotiated a better cost for inspection services on the USDA water infrastructure improvement project.

Dockery also reported to the council that although construction on the aquatics center had been halted due to the COVID-19 situation, materials are still arriving for that job and are being kept secure. Dockery said work is continuing on a RAMP grant that would provide security cameras at the Smiley Johnson Municipal Airport.

In his mayor’s comments, Sandy Skelton thanked everyone involved in making the online meeting possible.