Bank repossesses Alexander County patrol cars

CAIRO, Ill. -- A row of white sedans were on the outskirts of the parking lot at First National Bank in Cairo on Tuesday, the sides scraped clean of the Alexander County Sheriff's Department decals. Black letters still spelled out "sheriff" near the rear bumpers.

The bank repossessed the vehicles Tuesday because the county had defaulted on its payments for five of the department's patrol cars, according to a news release from Alexander County Sheriff David Barkett. The cars were turned over to the bank after a discussion and agreement with bank officials, Barkett said.

The bank's action comes in the wake of staff layoffs in the sheriff's department and the courthouse at the start of the month.

On Sept. 4, the board of commissioners mandated layoffs for 75 percent of the sheriff's department, Barkett said.

Sixteen county employees, both full and part time, received layoff notices, the Cairo Citizen reported.

Barkett said the sheriff's department would be focusing its diminished staff on serving the court, transporting inmates and handling legal process service.

The county budget currently has a $500,000 deficit, but county officials said that could be up to $1 million by the end of the 2009 fiscal year, according to the Cairo Citizen.

"It's really bad, if you ask me," Delisa Williams, 21, of Cairo, said Tuesday.

Williams said she'd heard other rumors about the county's financial struggles, like outstanding phone bills that had not been paid.

As a law enforcement officer and taxpayer in Alexander County, Gary Hankins, a lieutenant with the Cairo Police Department, said he understands the frustration of sheriff's department staff, but he can foresee the financial issues becoming a problem for county security.

"As a law enforcement officer, you want to do the very best you can for the people you're supposed to be serving," Hankins said.

bdicosmo@semissourian.com

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Pertinent address:

200 Washington Ave., Cairo, Ill.