BENTON — The Benton City Council Monday night approved an interagency agreement with the Southern Illinois Drug Task Force and student resource officer agreements with Benton Consolidated High School and Benton Grade School.

City Clerk Brook Craig tells our sister station WQRL that since the Benton Police Department can’t give an officer to the task force – operated by Illinois State Police –Benton will give $7,000 to them so the organization can hire an officer. The money the city council agreed to give the organization is based on population, so it’s like $1 per person according to Craig.

Again, the officer hired by the Southern Illinois Drug Task Force will not be a part of the Benton Police Department.

As for the SRO agreements, Craig says the agreement with Benton Grade School states that “BGS shall pay the city the sum of $20 per hour for the assignment by the city to BGS of the officer’s services for time spent as SRO.”

Benton Consolidated High School’s agreement says “BCHS shall pay the city the sum of $4,800 per month for the assignment by the city to BCHS of the police officer for services as SRO.”

Both agreements are for this school year and will go into effect after both school boards sign off on them sometime in the near future.