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A Reno County town eliminates its police department as it struggles with money troubles. City leaders in Nickerson voted 4-to-3 to let city officers go and depend solely on the county sheriff's department instead.
Some worry that this will lead to longer waits in an emergency but others say it will be just fine.
"I think Reno County Sheriff does a good job and they can take care of it, " says Stephen Ewrt"We'll be responding to any calls for service to the Nickerson area, which is not a whole different than what we do for the majority of these small towns in Reno county," says Sheriff Randy Henderson.
The sheriff has about 85 people on his staff, compared to the 6 people that made up Nickerson's police force. Many folks in the area say the Sheriff's been doing the heavy lifting anyway and that this decision makes sense.
"I think it's gonna be great for the city, we've got real professionalism with our Reno County patrol," says Brad Berridge.
But there are some who don't like the change. "It depends on when they're here. If they're here when they need them then that'll be good enough but I think that'll be pretty thin," says Dwight Engelland.
Nickerson police are set to complete their final shifts Saturday, October 13. No one will technically be out of a job. The department has one full time officer who is retiring. The other five are part time workers who all have other jobs.