Two former Silverton Police officers are now Hamilton County Sheriff's Deputies. They were sworn in Thursday along with a clerk, marking a change over in public safety in the Village.
Silverton officials asked the sheriff to take over because of revenue and population declines. Vice Mayor Mark Quarry says, "There's a lot of things going on today. The realities of the economy, decreased funding to jurisdictions from the State of Ohio. There's a number of factors that brought us here. You don't enter into a decision like this lightly but at the same time we're very optimistic and hopeful for the future."
With this addition, the sheriff's department now provides patrols to 13 townships and 2 villages. However, authorities say this is the first time a community other than a township has come to the Sheriff and asked to contract services.
"It would not surprise me if some other jurisdictions followed suit at some point down the road," says Quarry. "This was the best decision for Silverton." He says the entire community was involved in the decision and was glad there was no loss of jobs.
Sheriff Jim Neil also says he won't be surprised if other similar communities follow Silverton's lead. "I'm not out soliciting but it is my job to maintain the peace in all of Hamilton County."
