Commissioners put sheriff’s proposal on hold

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Delaware County commissioners will take more time to consider a proposal from the sheriff to provide GPS service for cruisers in the Perry Township Police Department.

The proposal was tabled after Commissioner Gary Merrell raised concerns about the precedent the agreement could set.

“This is a township outside our county,” he said of the Franklin County township. “Whatever we do today, like it or not, it will establish a precedent.”

Delaware County Sheriff Russ Martin said he understands the concern, but has been assured the deal will not negatively impact the county, and if it does, he reserves the right to cancel the agreement.

“If there is some concern about whether or not this would be precedent setting for other townships, that certainly is a valid concern,” he said. “I would not be willing to move forward if it was any burden upon the county at all.”

Martin also said he does not expect a rush of townships to request similar agreements with the county.

However, he said, cooperation among nearby law enforcement agencies is commonplace.

“We do a lot of regionalized sharing of resources,” Martin told the commissioners.

Merrell said he will take some time to seek assurances that the agreement will not negatively impact the county. He said he expects the measure to come up again in the near future.

“I fully expect this to come back. I just need a little time to go through that process,” he said. “I just want to know how we can be protected and be certain we can be protected.”

By Dustin Ensinger

[email protected]

Dustin Ensinger can be reached at 740-413-0902 or on Twitter @EnsingerDG.

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