A budget proposed by Sedgwick County officials that includes millions of dollars worth of funding cuts continues to affect the city’s budget talks.
County officials have recommended cutting over $500,000 in funding for the Sedgwick County Day Reporting Center, which offers an alternative to incarceration for non-violent, low-level criminals. The program also offers counseling and substance abuse treatment.
If the county’s recommended budget is passed next week, the city of Wichita will have to come up with about $400,000 to keep the program running. City Manager Robert Layton says the city is looking into alternatives.
“We are putting a together that includes city staff, other stakeholders including the Sedgwick County Sheriff, to talk about other approaches to dealing with those non-violent offenders," Layton says.
Sedgwick County has recommended the cuts to the center because the majority of the offenders who use the program are being sentenced in city courts. County commissioners say Wichita should shoulder more of the funding.
