Portsmouth, Va. - Speaking time for the Captain of the Portsmouth Sheriff’s Department abruptly came to a close Tuesday evening.
Captain J.S. Lilley spoke on behalf of the department regarding the $1 million budget cut his department is facing this summer.
“It was a last ditch effort for us to get across to members of council the problem with pulling $1 million out of the budget for the court security division,” says Lilley.
But the captain doesn't feel his concerns were received.
“Councilman Cherry said under his breath when I was told to sit down by the mayor, that the sheriff chose to pull the million, but that's not true,” says Lilley.
The cuts are scheduled to come July 1st and as long as there is time before they go into effect, the captain says he will continue to fight.
“I will be back next meeting with some other stuff for him. I'm not going to stop until July 1st,” says Lilley.
But according to mayor Kenny wright it's already a done deal.
When asked if anything was going to change the mayor responded.
“No. We are pretty firm on that,” says Mayor Kenny Wright.
Because according to him, the cuts will only improve the city's budget.
“It's unfortunate that he will want to use those things as security scares and those techniques, but no we are not going to budge there. We are going to have a safe court house,” says Wright.
