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riental is once again a one-policeman town. Sergeant Bill Careway submitted a letter of resignation on May 21st. He wrote that he was leaving for “personal reasons” and that it was effective immediately.

In a brief interview with TownDock.net, Careway declined to elaborate on why he was stepping down after 2-1/2 years. He said he planned to continue in law enforcement, perhaps in Oklahoma where his daughter and grandchild live.

The town had received complaints in recent months and there had been discussions between the officer and the town.

Between salary and benefits, the town saves around $30,000 in not having the second full-time officer. That point was not lost on the Town Board this week as it was putting the finishing touches on the budget for the fiscal year starting in July.

At a budget meeting on Tuesday, Town Board members indicated that they weren’t rushing to fill the full-time position. For those weekends and special events when Police Chief Jeff Casassa may need a second man, one option may be to hire a part time officer. A possibility that was floated: offering some extra hours to a deputy from the Pamlico County sheriff’s department.

The departure of Sergeant Careway presents some untied ends — namely the strings attached to a state grant that was set up to pay 50% of Sargent Careway’s $29,000-a-year-salary over the course of 4 years. (The COPS grant paid 75% of Sargent Careway’s salary in his first year, 50% in his second year, and 25% when he resigned. Starting in the state’s fiscal year in October, the town would have had to pay the full 100% of the salary.)

Administered through the Governor’s Highway Safety Commission, the COPS grant aimed to beef up traffic patrols. As part of the deal, the state provided Oriental with road stop equipment such as a laptop computer and 100 traffic cones.

Town Manager Randy Cahoon told the Town Board that he investigated the repercussions of bailing out early from that grant program and was told by the grant administrator that the town had 12 months to re-hire a policeman. Cahoon says that he found that the town could satisfy the grant with the part-time hire of a policeman.

If the town did not rehire a second policeman, Cahoon says, “we would have to give the toys back.” The 100 traffic cones, the trailer they are stored in and the laptop would go back to the state. The salary money would not have to be reimbursed.

At the town board’s budget meeting on Tuesday there was some discussion as well about the wisdom of maintaining the newly-acquired police boat if there were only one officer on duty in town most of the time.

Posted Thursday May 28, 2009 by Melinda Penkava