CITY OF SNOOK IN DISCUSSIONS ON CREATING POLICE DEPT.

  

The City of Snook is evaluating the possibility of starting a police force.

Last week, Snook City Councilmembers met to review potential options the city could pursue in establishing its own law enforcement presence.  Currently, the city receives protection from the Burleson County Sheriff’s Office and has a city marshal for services as needed.

One option being considered is elevating from part-time city marshal services and making that position a full-time one.  The city could also choose to create a police department with a full-time chief, with further officer positions to be determined based on need and what can be budgeted for.

Should a full-time agency be the decision, the city would need to purchase new municipal court software and add a part-time municipal court clerk position to help with a higher number of cases.  It would likely keep using the sheriff’s office dispatch services and pay its share to the county, rather than creating its own dispatch.

Preliminary budget projections presented to the council showed that the city’s estimated expenditures for one full-time employee – accounting for salary, equipment and other associated costs – would be $196,760.  Those estimates go up to $472,890 for three full-time employees.

Councilmember John Pollock, who served in the Brazos County and Burleson County Sheriff’s Offices, said he is behind the idea of starting a police department to support the city as it grows, adding that he does not believe Burleson County has plans in the short-term to add more deputy positions.  Snook Mayor Frank Fields agreed that a police department is needed.

City Administrator Frank Junek said regardless of the department’s number of officers, it will need office space, which could come from remodeling the existing city hall or purchasing property at another location.   

Fields said the next step is to work through numbers to see what is feasible and what a timeline could look like.