Northwest : STANTON : Police Services Pact Cut by 1 Investigator

Citing a tight budget, the city will cut one investigator’s position from its police services contract with the Sheriff’s Department.

Mayor Harry Dotson said that he is concerned about the city’s chronic crime problems but that the council had no choice but to cut the position after recently voting to reduce its utility tax.

Although Dotson opposed the tax when it was first proposed, he said he has changed his mind in recent years.

“We were able to increase law enforcement in the city because of the utility tax,” Dotson said. “I have seen the necessity of having it to protect the community.”

The council adopted a 6% tax two years ago on the gas, water, electricity and telephone bills of Stanton residents.

Council members subsequently promised to reduce the rate when the city could afford to, and they cut it by one percentage point earlier this year.

Councilman Sal Sapien, who supported both reductions, said that eliminating the investigator’s position would not harm the city’s law enforcement.

“The change was going to be very minimal,” he said. “It was nothing major.”