Village of Ripley looking to make cuts to police budget

While no vote was taken to cut the police department’s budget during the Jan. 23 Village of Ripley council meeting, it was made clear that budget cuts are coming for the village’s police department.

In 2023 the Ripley Police Department’s budget was nearly $600,000, but that was due to additional funding left over in the village’s general fund from the sale of a building to Metal Works. Those additional funds from the sale of the Metal Works building are not reoccurring from year to year, and the additional funds from the sale of the building have run out, according to the newly elected Ripley Mayor Travis Arnett.

Village officials expect the police budget to be reduced to around $300,000, which is similar to the budget in years prior to 2023 that did not include funds from the sale of a building. That would be just over 60-percent of the village’s budget.

“I think 61-percent of our budget is a very generous offer,” said Arnett.

Tuesday’s village council meeting drew quite the crowd, many there with concerns of the future for Ripley’s Police Department.

The expected budget cuts to the police department will leave the village without 24-hour coverage, and there could be several hours during the day or night when there is no police officer on duty.

“We’re going to have to lay some people off,” said Ripley Police Chief Corey Herren.

The talk of budget cuts to Ripley’s Police Department has led to rumors around the village that the Ripley Police Department will be shutting down.

“There was rumors going around about you, mayor, that you was going to get rid of the police department,” said Dusty Faul, a K-9 trainer and food truck owner who lives outside of Ripley, while speaking at the Jan. 23 village council meeting.

“I don’t understand why this all came about, just all of the sudden, that we now can’t afford a police department,” said Faul.

“It’s a hard pill for me to swallow, as I’m sure it is for a lot of you,” said Herren.

“It’s unfortunate. Some of these guys have families, and some of them are in the process of having families,” Herren said of his officers with expectations of lay-offs.

The new budget expected to pass will allow for three full-time officers working 12-hour shifts.

The Ripley Police Department currently has five officers.

The Village of Ripley will hold a finance meeting on Feb. 6 with the meeting to set the 2024 police budget expected to take place Feb. 13.