Stand-off over; Resaca votes to eliminate police department
by Susan Kirkland
Aug 11, 2009 | 1598 views | 3 3 comments | 15 15 recommendations | email to a friend | print
After meticulously making sure the motions were clear and all loop-holes were closed, the Resaca City Council voted, in a split-decision, to enter into negotiations with the Gordon County Sheriff's Office and subsequently close it's police department. It was the second order of business after a three month stand-off between councilmembers Jimmy Brown and Al Rosier, who stormed out of May's meeting before a vote could be taken on the matter, and the rest of the town concil.

Councilmember Jean Makonis pointed out that the contract from the Sheriff's Office offered 12-hour coverage with one deputy patrolling the city limits of Resaca and the 12-hours on-call service, like in unincorporated Gordon County, per day. The city will negotiate the cost of the service later.

When the vote was taken, Makonis and councilmember Julia Baker voted in favor of the motion eliminating the department. Brown announced that he and Rosier voted no. Mayor Samuel Allen broke the tie by voting for the motion.

Allen said that the City of Eton had made an undisclosed offer for the police cars, but they decided to table the motion since it would require discussion and resolution.
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comments (3)
« tndold498 wrote on Sunday, Aug 23 at 07:19 AM »
Thank goodness, that speed trap on I75 is gone, it was an embarrassment and nothing more then a deliberate attempt to generate funds to fill the coffers, and the new cars? please..that was almost a joke, oh and on really rainy days. I don't recall seeing the law out in force to make sure the speed limit was being adhered to , yes the comment comparing it to Benton was most appropriate, I was caught in that one time, by a police officer parked back in the car wash, he gave such a moving speech as to why he was giving me a ticket, I almost thought he was going to hug me with gratitude that he had been able to not be seen and had succeeded in clocking me and contributing to the local fund, that was what that portion of I75 was becoming, I drive it ever day and am so glad to see the disappearance of what was nothing less then creating a cash flow, I applaud any and all attempts to control traffic, assist those that need assistance and making sure our roads are safe,and the upholding of the law, I do not approve of what was nothing less then an operation to create revenue.
« Terry1960 wrote on Saturday, Aug 22 at 12:26 PM »
There's a big difference between enforcing the speed limit and having a speed trap. If I'm doing 15-20 miles per hour over the speed limit I would expect to get a ticket. It's a miracle that more accidents don't occur on our interstates and other highways, when someone can get away with 10mph over the limit they'll try for 20, and that's just ridiculous and dangerous. You're much more likely to get a ticket for a seatbelt violation than a speeding ticket
« volvo1 wrote on Friday, Aug 21 at 10:05 PM »
Resaca didnt need a "police dept" to begin with and they created a speed trap on the interstate and a name for the town much like Benton,TN. has for being a speed trap. They constantly requested the county to assist with calls in Resaca because they didnt want to get out of there "new cars" for nothing but writing tickets and their is more to the job than just to "serve" tickets.
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