City backs off shifting $1M from police to poverty efforts

WINSTON-SALEM, NC (AP) — The North Carolina city of Winston-Salem has backed off a plan that would have shifted $1 million away from the police department and toward anti-poverty efforts.

The Winston-Salem Journal reported Monday that the funding may not be available as previously thought.

Officials originally believed that $1 million was available because several police positions were expected to go unfilled. But officials said that overtime pay often comes from that pot of money.

City council members voted instead to set up a panel that would recommend that $1 million be spent on anti-poverty efforts if the money becomes available.