Vinton, Texas eliminates police department
Village of Vinton City Council has decided to eliminate its police force.
It will cease to exist at 5 p.m. Sept. 30, 2015.
The council came to the decision after six budget workshops.
The Village of Vinton was presented with a preliminary budget which would have placed the city in a deficit and would not have been able to carry balanced budget.
“Vinton currently has a deficit of $148,506, if we continue to fund the Police Department, the building they’re in currently needs over $165,000 in repair and in upgrades to become ADA compliant, it will bring our deficit to $313,612. Our primary goal is water and sewer for all of the residents, if the agencies we have applied to for funding see we’re intentionally budgeting a deficit, theymore than likelywill not fund us for the much needed water” states Santos Lucero, Vinton Alderman Place 4.
A statement from the Village of Vinton further stated that, “Water and seweris the number one priority for the City Council and, without a balanced budget, funding agencies such as the United States Department of Agriculture and the Texas Water Development Boardmay not fund either project.”
City Council looked at all departments for additional cutbacks.
Public Works and the Administrative Department reduced their initial budgets and are both currently working with limited staff, according to the Village of Vinton.
Vinton officials say the elimination of the police department will not affect the safety of the residents and the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office will continue to patrol the area.
The Sheriff’s Office has apatrol unit assigned solely to Vinton.
The Village of Vinton is a small municipality west of El Paso with a population of 1,971. Vinton has struggled to receive funding assistance for the water and waste water projects in previous years due to a lack of consensus from City Council members and failure to approve balanced budgets and property tax assessments on time.
