Rising Sun Police Department to Close March 2

Monday, February 12, 2024 at 3:22 PM

City Council adopted an Ordinance of Dissolution on Monday night.

Rising Sun City Council with Sheriff Tom Baxter. Photo by Travis Thayer, Eagle Country 99.3.

(Rising Sun, Ind.) - The final step in closing the Rising Sun Police Department took place on Monday night.

City Council gathered for a special meeting to adopt an Ordinance of Dissolution that closes the PD effective March 2.

Previously, City Council and County Commissioners both voted unanimously to authorize an inter-local agreement that would close the PD and transfer all law enforcement duties within the county and City of Rising Sun to the Ohio County Sheriff's Office.

Now that the Rising Sun PD has a closing date, the next order of business was to transfer funds to the Ohio County Sheriff's Office so that Sheriff Tom Baxter can bring on any remaining Rising Sun PD employees that would like to transfer.

Two employees are expected to join the Sheriff's Office in the coming weeks.

The funding from the city is also expected to help fill the remainder of the law enforcement staff at the Sheriff's Office. Under the inter-local agreement, the Sheriff's Office must maintain a police force of at least 12 deputies, and should the police force fall below that number, the Sheriff will promptly work to fill any openings to bring the total back to 12 or more.

Sheriff Baxter, who was present at Monday's meeting, indicated that there has been interest from certified law enforcement officers that want to join the force. Baxter added that he has been waiting for the funding to come through to move forward with the hiring process.

City Council OKs First Step to Close Rising Sun Police Department