New Bloomfield’s city council meets after budget cuts to the police department

UPDATE 9:38 P.M.: The city council meeting started with the public raising their concerns to the council about the budget and cutting a sergeant position from the police force.

The Mayor spent most of the meeting answering questions about the sergeant position cut and the superintendent raise. He did not address the Facebook posts during the meeting.

The New Bloomfield police Chief addressed the council and the public saying that he made his post on Facebook because he believed that the public needs to know the needs of the police department.

ORIGINAL STORY: The New Bloomfield’s city council is scheduled to meet on Thursday after cuts were made to the police department for “budgetary reasons.”

City officials recently decided to dissolve one officer’s position and cut the chief’s hours in half.

The chief recently posted on Facebook saying, “The city has one officer that is paid for 30 hours of service per month which equates to approximately 7.5 hours per week.”

The police cars are also being brought into question because of deteriorating decals.

During the meeting, residents are expected to voice their concerns about the cuts.

Jason Piper, a Police and Code Enforcement Board Member, said that the city will have to rely on the Callaway County Sheriff’s Department for help.

Piper also said that the city superintendent was given a $5,000 raise and the city clerk was given a 20 percent pay raise.

ABC 17 crews will be in the meeting, which is scheduled to get underway at 6 p.m. at City Hall.