Small-Town Police Fight to Stay on the Job in Okla.

Nov. 8--Having a police department has been a struggle for at least two Muskogee County towns over the last several months.

--Braggs, population 308, voted last month to at least temporarily suspend its police department operations because of budget problems.

--Webbers Falls, population 716, closed its police department after having been told the town had to have a police chief. Town trustees want to revitalize their police department, but want to put new policies and procedures in place.

With the nation's faltering economy, small-town police departments from Texas to Maine are being closed for budget problems, according to news reports on the Internet. Some constituents say they think political motivations weigh just as heavily in the closings as the economy.

Webbers Falls officials have argued the state agency that ordered their police department closed had no authority to do so.

In Shepherd, Texas, population 2,029, the town's only officer has been laid off. Town councilors said it was because of budget constraints, but the officer had arrested one of the councilors earlier this year for allegedly selling counterfeit movies.

On the other hand, nothing but budget problems are cited in the reasons Williamstown, Pa., population 1,500, closed its police department. That cut $377,226 from the town's budget.

At a recent town Board of Trustees meeting, former Webbers Falls police officer Aaron Gage said, "A good police department is a good moneymaker for a city."

But no area police departments make a profit from writing tickets, according to several city and town officials.

In Muskogee, the police department gets the largest piece of the budget pie -- about 19.9 percent. That's a larger percentage than either general government at 18.2 percent or the fire services at 16.5 percent.

However, revenues from fines and forfeitures make up 3.9 percent of the total budgeted revenues. About half of the revenues come from sales tax, and water sales make up the next largest segment of income at 17.8 percent.

"We were losing about $2,000 a month," said Rebecca Smith, Braggs town clerk. "It doesn't take long at that to empty your coffers pretty quick."

Webbers Falls' budget for 2009-2010 estimates the town will receive $5,000 in fines and spend about $48,000 for its police department operations.

That $48,000 budget wouldn't cover the police department costs for a full year, said Town Clerk Susan Dwyer. It would have to be supplemented with a budget transfer.

"If we have to have a police department that would fund itself by writing tickets, I'm not for it," said Bob Ogg, Webbers Falls trustee.

Budget requirements are about third on his list of things to consider when deciding whether Webbers Falls will reinstate its police department, he said.

"No. 1 is protection of the community," he said. "Second is how people work for the department, and third is financial."

Muskogee County Sheriff Charles Pearson said there is no easy fix for the financial problems towns encounter with operating a police department.

"It's expensive to run a department," he said. "You've got to do it right."

His office has been answering police calls in both Braggs and Webbers Falls since they've disbanded their police departments.

The sheriff's department has answered calls in Council Hill, Taft and Boynton for several years because those towns have no organized police departments, Pearson said.

Even before Braggs dispensed with its department, the sheriff's office sometimes answered calls in the town limits.

"In Braggs and all these other towns, the officer works eight hours and goes home," Pearson said. "He may take a few calls from the house, but generally we get the calls. We don't mind."

The sheriff's office frequently answers calls in Warner and Porum if their officers go on vacation or training.

"All of them have switched their phones where it rings us and we'll go take calls for them," he said. "We don't mind doing that."

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