Ellerbe approves contract for 12-hour deputy coverage

ELLERBE — The Ellerbe Town Council on Monday unanimously approved the offer from the county government to station a deputy within the town’s limits 12 hours per day.

The town had renewed a contract to keep a deputy within its limits for 24 hours per day every time the contract ran out since 1999, but they elected not to going into the new fiscal year because of new financial constraints resulting from the county’s change to an ad valorem sales tax distribution method. The original contract would’ve cost the town $180,665.02 annually for the next three years. This rate was already discounted, according to County Manager Bryan Land, who explained that the actual cost for 24 hours of deputy coverage would be an estimated $319,000.

Under the new contract, which expires on June 30, 2022, a deputy will be in the town from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. each day. The county will allocate $113,994.02 of its $8,707,508 in federal American Rescue Plan monies to lift a significant amount of financial burden off of Ellerbe would pay a total of $66,661 for the year, with quarterly payments of $16,665.25.

“I’m glad we were able to work out a solution to provide some coverage to our citizens,” said Mayor Fred Cloninger. He and other council members had received multiple phone calls from concerned residents when the prospect of dropping the contract with the Sheriff’s Office first arose publicly last year.

When the Town Council voted 4-1 to accept their 2021-2022 budget without the contract with the Sheriff’s Office, the council (including John Sears, who still voted against the budget on the basis that some law enforcement protection was needed) were dissatisfied with the discussions with the county. Cloninger said last week that the now-approved offer from the county included “revisions we requested”.

“I’m pleased that we came together to provide a level of coverage at the discounted rate,” said Board of Commissioners Chairman Jeff Smart in a text. “Obviously, safety is a huge concern not only in Ellerbe but throughout our County. I’m confident that we will continue to see partnerships such as this as we continue to move forward. Anything can be worked out with good communication and hard work.”

Throughout the discussions, Land and Sheriff James Clemmons have maintained that law enforcement service to Ellerbe would not suffer if the town decided not to pay to have a deputy stationed there. Multiple requests for response time data from the Sheriff’s Office and 9-1-1 Center have not been returned.