After weeks of complaints by members of the Sharon community concerning the manner in which Sharon police officers have patrolled the Hwy. 45 Bypass that skirts the city, and the actions of the Sharon Board of Mayor and Aldermen, during last Monday night’s regular monthly meeting, two Sharon police officers resigned.
     Sharon Police officers Mark Seat and Gary Eddings resigned following the board meeting, leaving Sharon with two police officers to patrol the city - Bill Pate, who serves full-time and Brad Hardin, who’s a part-time officer. Pate is the only certified police officer in Sharon. The other police officer, Brad Hardin, is at the police academy to obtain certification.
     While many Sharon citizens have voiced their support of the officers, others have been critical of some of their actions. These citizens have voiced their complaints during city board meetings, and in letters to the editor in local newspapers. This lack of appreciation by some local citizens may have been a contributing factor in the officers’ decision to resign.
     Sharon Mayor James Gary Roberts stated, during a phone interview on Friday, that other officers have volunteered to work part-time until the vacancies can be filled. One of these officers will be Kenton Police Officer Andy Vallee, who has helped the city of Sharon in the past year on a part-time basis. Roberts stated that part-time officers will be used temporarily, but if the city gets in a bind and there is no officer on duty, the Sheriff’s Department is available for assistance.
     Mayor Roberts stated that both resigning officers have worked for the city and served on the Sharon Fire Department for several years. “They’ve been a part of our emergency activities for a long time,” Roberts said.
     When asked why the officers quit, Roberts replied, “Well, all of the activities that have taken place - all of the question marks related to our policing activities – whether we’re going to have a chief - whether we’re not going to have a chief – just all of that uncertainty - would have played a factor in it.” He added that both officers are full-time employees, with Mark Seat working at MTD, as well as serving as Weakley County Emergency Management Director, and Gary Eddings working for the Weakley County Municipal Service.
     “So, they both had their plates full,” Roberts said. “Whether this was a total knee-jerk reaction, or whether it was something that had been building, and they just said, ‘well, now is the time’ (I don’t know). But in either case, I certainly was disappointed that it happened, and if either one of them were to change their minds and want to come back and offer their services, then certainly, I would welcome it. Both of them are solid guys, and solid community servants.”
     Roberts explained that prior to Sharon Police Chief Bob Johnson not being rehired, Officer Pate was working part-time. Once the board voted to operate the police department without a chief, Pate was hired on a full-time basis. “Our city charter has a provision in it that our police chief and our city recorder are hired every year,” Roberts said. “So, every July 1, we have to rehire them. And the board elected not to rehire Bob Johnson. The board didn’t think we needed a chief. But, my position is, and has been, if you’re going to have a police department, you ought to have a chief.”
     However, with Johnson’s ouster, Roberts stated during the July board meeting that, in his opinion, the city doesn’t have anybody experienced enough to be chief. And although certain board members entertained the possibility of getting the board involved in police activity, the charter simply doesn’t allow for such action.
     “I’m not in the mindset of managing the police department and I don’t want to be.” But, as things stand for now, Roberts explained that the city charter gives the authority of managing the police department to the mayor. “I can’t act as chief, but I can direct the affairs,” Roberts said.
     As for the level of community support that the resigning officers have had, Roberts said, “By and large, the community support of these men has been very strong.
“So, we’re in a transition, there’s no question,” Roberts said. “And whether the transition is people or it becomes policy remains to be seen.”
     The Sharon board will meet August 15 at 7 p.m. to discuss filling the positions left open by the resignation of officers Seat and Eddings, as well as other city matters.
     During an interview on Monday, Officer Mark Seat said, “I resigned because of some situations that came up in the board meeting the other night, plus, I want to focus more on my emergency management position.”

     During Monday night’s meeting of the Weakley County Commission, members approved the budget for fiscal year 2005-2006. They also approved the second and final reading of a resolution authorizing a $20 wheel tax increase, set the property tax levy for Weakley County, and acted on several other important measures that came before them.
FY 2005-2006 Budget
     Commissioners approved the budget for fiscal year 2005-2006 by a vote of 17-1 with the only “no” vote coming from Commissioner Bob Gardner of Greenfield.
Although the property tax rate of $2.17 per $100 of assessed property remains unchanged, the dispersion of the money raised by this tax has been revised. The most obvious change is the addition of a new category called “Capital Projects.” A breakdown of these changes showing the property tax allocation for FY 2004-2005 compared to FY 2005-2006 is as follows:
- 2004-2005 budget -
General Fund = 53 cents
Highway Fund = 29 cents
School = 80 cents
Debt Service = 55 cents
Total = $2.17
- 2005-2006 budget -
General Fund = 66 cents
Highway Fund = 18 ½ cents
School = 80 cents
Capital Projects = 2 ½ cents
Debt Service = 50 cents
Total = $2.17
     As seen in the above comparison, 10 ½ cents of the property tax rate has been shifted out of the Highway Fund and placed in the General Fund, while 5 cents is taken out of Debt Service and 2 ½ cents of this amount is moved into the General Fund and another 2 ½ cents into Capital Projects. The end result is the same, with the total property tax rate remaining at $2.17.

(Read the rest of this story in this week's print edition of the Dresden Enterprise.)