Cumberland Commissioners Vote To Add $1.7 Million Back To Budget

The additional funding will allow 63 school crossing guards and nine school nurses and about eight of the 39 sheriff's deputies who would have been laid off on June 30 to keep their jobs.

The commissioners voted 4-3 to add no more than $1.7 million back to the budget.

The money will come from county savings and is in addition to $4.6 million that the county manager had proposed using from reserves for the next fiscal year.

The extra funds will also pay for the county's mosquito control program in the county and gives an extra $150,000 to cash-strapped libraries.

For the people in Cumberland County who argued against the budget cuts, getting additional money is good news, but for others, it is not a done deal yet.

"I hope more people speak out," says homeowner Bobby Haddock. He is pleased to know that commissioners may scale back their proposed budget cuts, but he is not celebrating yet.

Commissioner Lee Warren says that the money was not originally in the budget, but was available to use if necessary. He said the public's input helped the commissioners decide which services and positions should be funded.

"We as elected officials value greatly the feelings, sentiments and concerns of citizens, and that plays a big part in it," Warren says.

"It teaches us that people pulling together can make a difference, especially when it comes to politics," Haddock says.