The Register Police Department is dormant once again.
The closure of the town’s part-time police department follows official decisions made Thursday night during a city council meeting. Chief Kelphie Lundy submitted his resignation last month and municipal court judge Joey Cowart submitted his letter ahead of Thursday’s meeting. While the city has been trending toward closure since the start of the first quarter of the year, it also lacks the personnel and infrastructure necessary to conduct police operations. The city is also without a clerk.
What Led to the Decision to Make the Register Police Department Dormant
In 2020, the Register City Council adopted and instituted a property tax, an unprecedented move for the 40-year-old town. Last November, a handful of new officials successfully campaigned on financial reforms for the city, promising to curb spending and repeal property taxes. After being sworn in in January 2022, city officials began making sweeping changes to city operations and contracted with an independent entity for a forensic audit dating back to 2017. The finances of and the need for the police department were also front and center.
The closure of the police department is not a new move for the town. In 2015, a series of investigative pieces revealed that the police department was costing the town roughly $300,000 annually. Despite the considerable amount of fines collected, the town was operating in the negative with almost $100,000 in debt. The hefty price tag prompted officials to vote to suspend operations the following year. That remained the case until 2017 when elected officials reinstated the agency on a part-time basis under a new administration.
As they did previously, the Bulloch County Sheriff’s Office will resume full coverage of the city in the police department’s absence, though deputies already routinely patrol the area.
The Town of Register, located in Bulloch County, has a population of ~175.
