Argyle’s Crime Control and Prevention District hasn’t been eliminated, but those serving on the board will change.
Town Council voted 4-1 at a special council meeting Monday to approve a resolution that replaces the current CCPD board with the sitting council members.
According to council, it is a way to make the board decisions more efficient, and is not indicative of the work done by the board or those serving on it.
“We have members that felt the purpose of that board was just not as effective as it could be,” said Mayor Ron Schmidt. “This gives a more direct line [between] the chief and council.”
One of the now-former CCPD board members, Sean Ford, spoke at the council meeting in hopes of putting a pause on the decision.
“My concern is about governance and the workload,” he said. “The [current] structure is meaningful… and this will eliminate a layer of citizen involvement.”
Ford pointed out how much council already has on its plate with proposed developments, infrastructure, town budgets, staffing and more. He said the board allows residents to get into the details of the CCPD in a volunteer capacity while council maintains its oversight.
“To me, that’s not unnecessary bureaucracy, that’s distributing the workload and bringing more residents into their local government,” said Ford.
However, council still approved the consent item, which did not require a public hearing and hadn’t been discussed publicly at prior meetings.
The town’s CCPD board usually met on its own, and then brought items to council for approval.
Now, council members will likely open with a CCPD meeting on the same day as a council meeting, hear from Argyle Police Chief Emmitt Jackson, and then adjourn before opening the regular council meeting.
“I don’t remember the last time we had information come up from the CCPD, and it’s much cleaner and quicker to have the chief tell us what he needs,” said Schmidt.
Town Manager Mike Sims emphasized the importance of public safety, and with a lot of money going into a new police station, the town wants to be as efficient as possible. Schmidt agreed with the sentiment.
“We’re at a junction right now talking about a new police station,” said Schmidt. “Our town is going to evolve from more of a bedroom community to having large chunks of commercial and I think having that direct line of communication with the chief will be advantageous.”
The one dissenting opinion on council was member Casey Stewart, who was not quite convinced council should take over CCPD duties.
“I think we have a fantastic police department and I’m extremely happy with how the chief runs things,” he said. “I acknowledge these boards are a pain for us to run, and I know we have budgetary control, but I’m just not on the bandwagon of getting rid of the CCPD.”
Sims said the CCPD has evolved outside of its original intent, which could be a reason for the change.
“If you go back 20 years, a lot of the [CCPD] function was involved in the moral support of helping the police department feel enthusiastic about doing their job and knowing the citizens had their back,” he said. “That particular role really needs to transition in the modern age to the Argyle Citizens Police Academy Alumni Association.”
According to Sims, the ACPAAA is a nonprofit that is set up to support the police department through fundraising and special events. He believes volunteers with that organization are the real difference makers.
“They’re incredibly important and that’s another avenue I’m definitely going to want to invite volunteers to be involved with,” said Sims.
Council was thankful for the members that volunteered on the CCPD board, and encouraged them to find other ways to serve the town.
“There’s no slight to the board – they’re not being punished or anything like that,” said Schmidt. “And we’ll open it up to them for other positions.”
Chief Jackson declined to comment on the change.
