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Suburban Saga: Holly Springs Police Need More Expansion Than Budget Can Bear
Holly Springs has more than tripled in population in 10 years, but the budget probably cannot supply the positions the police department says the growth requires.
Posted — UpdatedHOLLY SPRINGS, N.C. — Budget season has most cities and towns in the triangle feeling a crunch. In Holly Springs, more growth means more needs for the police department.
Holly Springs has more than tripled in size in a decade.
“This area has really just exploded in growth from what we've seen since we've moved in,” said resident Jeremy Jones.
On average, three families move into Holly Springs everyday, and the growth is starting to take it's toll on police.
The department’s call volume is going up about 15 percent a year, Chief John herring reports.
“That's largely because of growth,” Herring said. “The more people that live here, the more calls we're going to get.”
For the fiscal year that starts July 1, Herring is asking for 17 new positions: six officers, two investigators, two school resource officers, an animal control officer, and six telecommunication positions.
“It does sound like a lot at face value,” Herring said. He added, however, “We didn't request anything that we don't need.”
The money in town coffers doesn’t grow as fast as the need for services, however.
“It's tough for any town manager to find the money for all the needs that we've got,” Herring concedes, and Town Manager Carl Dean agrees.
“With that growth we're also dealing with streets, sidewalks, parks and recreation, fire department,” Dean said.
Dean said his recommendation will be to give the police department about a third of what it asked for. Herring says he'll have to make due with what he gets as growing pains put a strain on everyone.
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