The Twentynine Palms City Council met last night in regular session. Reporter David Haldane says the Council had two big agenda items…
The Twentynine Palms City Council took care of two biggies last night: renewing its $3.3-million-dollar annual contract with the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Dept., and approving the city’s $8.5 million General Fund budget for fiscal 2016-17.
Both passed easily with only minor discussion and no argument. The sheriff’s contract includes $164,000 for a school resources officer to spend half his time working with students. Morongo Unified School District Superintendent Tom Baumgarten, who was at the meeting, spoke strongly in favor of the position. His remarks were echoed by Sheriff’s Captain Jeff Joling, who said that in the last two weeks alone the officer helped solve 13 burglaries.
The new budget passed with only minor tweaks. Overall, it represents a 1.7 percent increase over last year with a net reserve of $10.9 million.
TWENTYNINE PALMS CITY COUNCILS APPROVES SHERIFF’S CONTRACT, BUDGET
