City, county to temporarily fund Byron SRO

After the Byron School Board voted to cut the school resource officer from its budget, due to a budget crisis within the District, the City Council, on the recommendation of the City Administration has allocated an increase to the law enforcement budget for the FY 24 budget, in order to ensure there is a SRO this fall.
As part of the agreement City Administrator Al Roder said he worked with the Olmsted County Sheriff’s Department “on a proposal to keep this critical position within the schools and the City for the next two years.”
“I have discussed this with the School Superintendent and shared that this is a temporary intervention, and the desire is for the School District to take over their portion of the position upon successful passage of an operating levy or at the end of this temporary agreement, whichever comes first,” Roder wrote in a memo.
For now, the only agreement in place, Roder said, is for the remainder of FY 24, with the city’s portion totaling $18,400.
“At this time, we have a verbal agreement to split the remainder of 2024 costs with the Sheriff’s department, subject to council approval. This would add $18,400 to the City’s law enforcement agreement,” Roder wrote.
Roder noted there would be conversations about future allocations for the SRO position next budget season.
“The 2025 investment would be addressed in the upcoming budget process for 2025,” Roder wrote.
Keeping Deputy on the Street
Roder said he views the move to help cover the cost of a SRO as an investment and not as a “bail out,” and instead believes it’s a benefit to the community.
“If I don’t have the SRO then my street deputy is the one that’s answering calls,” Roder said during a phone interview on Monday.