Hawkins City Council fails to pass annual budget

HAWKINS – The City of Hawkins was unable to approve an annual budget on Monday night, as they met in a packed room filled with anxious residents.

The meeting followed the release of all Hawkins Police Department officers earlier this year and served as a way to review two proposed 2025-2026 annual budgets which reduce funding for the police and fire departments. According to our news partner KETK, Hawkins residents said in the meeting they don’t want to be left without local law enforcement and asked council members to postpone the vote and hold a community budget workshop.

“They have a police department that’s nonexistent that was budgeted for $89,000 and it’s nonexistent,” Hawkins fire chief Ty Musick said. “There’s there’s really no need to cut our budget at such a drastic mark.”

“You disbanded our police department. That was a major decision and whether it was one supported or not, it dramatically changed this community’s ability to handle public safety,” Hawkins resident Amy Pack said. “Our choices are cut in half, or sadly, approximately a quarter of the previous year’s budget.”

For the proposed yearly budget two options were drafted. Proposal A would lower the police department’s budget from around $384,000 to about $163,000.

Proposal B would lower it even further down to about $87,000 dollars or about 23% of the 2025 budget and would also drop the fire department’s budget. Neither option was approved by council members.

“We’re going to rebuild this town, make it an attractive little town, a safe little town with a police department and we want our fire department to be top notch,” council member Mick Medlin said.

The city’s sectary said after the vote “the states going to come in and take over.”