FORT GAINES, Ga. (WALB) - The city of Fort Gaines no longer has a police department because of issues with the city’s budget and the department’s staffing. Many rural departments in South Georgia are facing this issue.

“It became a salary issue, a compensation issue relative to the budget.” said Mayor of Fort Gaines, Kenneth Sumpter.

According to Mayor Sumpter, the city also had issues staffing the police force — a problem many rural areas in South Georgia face.

“That’s typical, that is a typical challenge for cities overall,” the mayor explained. “I had to inquire with other city representatives and managers to get a real sense of the affordability of how they manage and whether that was a real challenge for other cities as well, and it’s not unusual.” Sumpter said.

The police department had three full-time officers — the chief and two officers. The department was having to pay those officers overtime rates in order to serve the community, causing a strain on the city’s budget.

The mayor continued, “There was an attempt to consider that in the budget — The amount of overtime for all three, and there was perhaps some miscalculations. Or we got to a point where some adjustments need to be made, so that’s how we got here.”

Right now, the Clay County Sheriff’s Office will provide their services to the city while the police department is dismantled.

“I would like to think that council overall, unanimously will agree to restore the police department as quickly as possible and provide the services as expected by the citizens.” Mayor Sumpter said.

The mayor said they will be addressing these budget issues at the next council meeting on Tuesday, April 8. The mayor is encouraging all residents to attend.

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