The City of Magnolia and the Magnolia Police Department have all but formally finalized a plan to retain and potentially recruit police officers to the city. Let the Banner-News be one of the first to applaud the move in an effort to keep the citizens of Magnolia safe. For a city which experienced 4 gun related deaths in the span of a work week, movement to sure up the police force and keep those already involved to stay here is not only expected, but necessary.
The plan, as mentioned previously, included a 1.5-mill rate increase for the city’s general fund. This is expected to add up to an additional $70,000 to the general fund that the city will use to pay for salary increases and two new Dodge Durango patrol vehicles. Going further, plans to build a new police station could come later with monies being pulled from the city’s reserve fund. The balance, however, is sought to be 1.5 million before taking anything out in order to preserve the reserve fund in case of an emergency.
On average in 2016, police departments across the U.S. employed 21 total personnel for every 10,000 residents. In a city of 11,000 plus, Magnolia should have 23 employees to get to that average. In 2019, plans are to have 22 employees with 11 patrols officers, not including clerical staff and school resource officers. With the changes coming, Magnolia can now say we are getting to the average necessity in terms of policing. Violence in the streets has struck change in the Mayor’s office, although, this is something that has been under construction, formally, since October, a month before Magnolia’s deadly shootings.
If giving up a splash pad at East Side Park means Magnolia can get to terms with its safety needs, then we are all aboard the train.