Lott disbands police department

The Lott City Council voted 3-1 on Aug. 22 to disband its police department as a result of a budget shortfall.

The police chief had until Tuesday, Aug. 23, to turn over his keys and equipment, city officials said.

Mayor Sue Tacker said the FCSO has agreed to help as much as they can.

The Falls County Sheriff’s Office secured the police building and evidence room, took inventory of the evidence room, and began transporting the inventory to the agency’s office in Marlin.

Council Member John Travis Golding motioned to defund and disband the department during the meeting on Aug. 22 saying, “As of July 31, 2022, combined with the last two fiscal years, all of our departments have run a $411,800 deficit, of that $411,800, $439,931 have been police and the court department, that’s 106 percent of our overall deficit for the last three years. We have proposed a budget for this next fiscal year 2022, ending Sept. 30, 2023, in our proposed budget, we have budgeted a deficit of $104,342 for all departments for the year: our police and courts make up $237,000 of that $104,000, that’s 227 percent of the debt we’re going to be in. In the Fall of 2021, our independent auditor warned this city council that if we don’t get control of our expenses, that this city would be bankrupt in the next two to three years. It is the duty of this council to be responsible for the financial sustainability of this city.”

Tacker said there just isn’t enough revenue coming in and the police department is the city’s biggest expense.

The City of Lott Courts Department will continue to remain in effect for the next 30 to 90 days, and Hamilton and his lone remaining officer, Terry Kimble, will receive two weeks severance pay.