More than 20 Hope Mills residents spoke on Monday, June 15. They told town leaders they want a property tax increase for the fiscal year 2026-2027 budget. The money would go to the police department. It would pay for more officers.
Mayor Jessie Bellflowers attended the public hearing. So did Mayor Pro Tem Hope Page and Commissioners Bryan Marley, Grilley Mitchell, Lisa Tremmel, and Cynthia Hamilton. Officers and citizens shared their concerns.
“Every day, I kiss my children goodbye knowing that there’s a chance that I might not come home,” said Lauren Peoples, a police officer and mother of two, as she asked commissioners to fund the Hope Mills Police Department with more officers, according to CityView. “If you knew every single day there was a 50% chance that you might not come home because somebody could kill you at work, how much money would you work that job for, and the answer would be most people would say, ‘I wouldn’t even work that job.'”…