TWO RIVERS (NBC 26) — In the search for Elijah Vue, Two Rivers is seeing higher costs than expected.
- Two Rivers voted to shift funds from other departments to compensate for increased overtime hours accrued by their police department
- Two Rivers Police used up $70,000 of their allocated $130,000 overtime budget for the year in just four weeks
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)
Greg Buckley has been the city manager of Two Rivers since 1995. He is in charge of making sure their police force can continue looking for Elijah Vue.
This comes just ahead of the newest find in the search: Elijah Vue’s blanket. It was found 3.7 miles away from where the boy was last seen nearly a month ago.
Buckley and his team have noticed that the search efforts are impacting their budget.
“The city council, on Monday evening, approved an amendment to our 2024 city budget just to make sure that we have a more adequately funded contingency.”
Buckley says the main group that will benefit from this is the Two Rivers Police Department, which has spent more than half of its allocated overtime funding for the year so far in the search.
“The police department’s budget for overtime wages is $130,000," says Buckley. "In the last four weeks, we’ve seen $70,000 in overtime expenses.”
The overall contingency, or safety net, per Buckley, is $310,000 from the $11.3 million public fund. But, the money isn’t coming from one source.
According to the resolution passed on Monday, money will be taken from multiple departments and funds, including public works, recreation and previous funds.
Buckley wants everyone to know: no dollar amount will not stop the search efforts until Elijah is found.
“Clearly, job one is the continued search for that little boy.”
As the search for Elijah Vue continues, authorities are encouraging the public to share any information that might help lead to finding Elijah.
