Sheriff's office will temporarily cover night shifts in Brevard for police department

Two sheriff’s deputies will work within city limits from midnight to 6 a.m. each night and the city will pay for the costs. N.C. Highway Patrol will cover any vehicle wrecks during that time, as it is not a function of the Sheriff’s Office.

The contract is estimated to cost $7,527 per week for personnel, including workers’ benefits.

Additionally, weekly vehicle fees and fuel will cost $963. A weekly 10% overhead cost is set at $684 to cover equipment, insurance and other support services. A one-time fee of $6,000 will add two body cameras for those sheriff officers who are not equipped.

Brevard Police Chief Tom Jordan was contacted to explain the current staffing vacancies following the meeting.

There are currently eight sworn officer position vacancies, he said Wednesday, including: two patrol sergeants, four patrol officers, one detective sergeant and one detective.

“We also have one patrol sergeant who is currently on military deployment but is not considered a vacant position,” Jordan said. “We are in the process of hiring three new officers by July 1, who will enter training with our agency before being assigned to a patrol shift, which will decrease the number of vacancies in our patrol operations division from six to three.”

There is also an administrative specialist position open which will be announced in the next few days.

“The purpose of the interlocal agreement is to provide some respite for our officers in their schedules over the course of the next six months by having the TCSO assist us from midnight to 6 a.m. which is a period of very low call volume,” said Jordan. “The agreement would allow us to place our officers on a schedule that provides the same levels of service over periods of time where the need is greater.”