Alamo City Council Suspends Police Department Closure Until November 2026

The Alamo City Council voted to suspend all actions regarding relinquishing the Alamo Police Department to Wheeler County until Nov. 1, 2026, during their monthly meeting on Dec. 8 in the Alamo City Hall.

The council began the process of handing over control of the department to the Wheeler County Sheriff’s Office during their previous meeting on Nov. 17, but the item was not originally on the agenda. Council Member Steve Jones requested the item be added to the meeting’s agenda at the beginning of the meeting.

Jones argued the council should move forward with the merger in order to save money, which he said during public comments would total approximately $51,000 annually. While the council had delayed an official decision in favor of receiving input from residents, Jones cited recent voting numbers to argue residents were unengaged and uninterested with the council’s actions.

“What I’m saying is they are not interested in what we’re doing,” said Jones during the November meeting. “We need to do what we need to do for the city of Alamo, saving money if we can. We can use it somewhere else, and I just think we need to move on with it, start the process.”

Jones offered a motion to begin the process. Council Member Dondrea Geter called Jones’ proposal “tasteless” and “classless,” but Jones’ motion to begin the process passed in a majority vote.

For the December meeting, city officials and the Wheeler County Sheriff’s Office both prepared documents regarding the Alamo Police department’s financial costs and the projected savings from a merger, respectively. Both documents were made available to attendees to review.

The City of Alamo’s document detailed the Alamo Police Department’s expenses, including payroll, vehicles, health insurance, equipment and court costs, from 2019 to 2024. According to the report, the department’s total expenses rose by $55,597 over the five-year timeframe, from $209,695 in 2019 to $265,256 in 2024, while the department’s staff saw a net loss of seven offices over the same time, from 12 officers in 2019 to five officers in 2024.

However, the department’s costs did not rise gradually, instead seeing a sharp increase from 2019’s $209,695 to 2020’s $286,786. Total costs dropped in 2022 with $248,527 and then rose again to $285,593 in 2023. 

Many of the changing costs were due to sharp rises in certain areas which later fell, such as in 2020 with an increase of court ware costs from $955.77 to $25,564, an increase in payroll by over $40,000 and an implementation of hazard pay, and in 2021 with a large increase in costs from Digital Ally, a company which assists with surveillance cameras, from $6,816 to $65,600. Other factors include a general rise in health insurance, court clerk and gas costs.

Meanwhile, the Wheeler County Sheriff’s Office prepared a proposal for the office to assume the Alamo Police Department’s responsibilities, detailing coverage, cooperation with the City of Alamo and financial costs and savings for the city. The proposal was created solely by the sheriff’s office with no input from the Alamo Police Department.

The proposal estimates the current average annual cost for the department to total $326,828, with a six year total cost of $1,960,968. Under the sheriff’s office, the cost to the city would fall to $274,653 annually, resulting in annual savings of $51,828 and $310,968 over a six year period.

The new department would look to staff four deputies, which would provide up to three deputies per shift “ensuring reliable 24/7 coverage for the City” according to the proposal. Council Member Patricia Woodard asked Sheriff Glenn Giles during the meeting if the department could instead staff two deputies, but Giles insisted four deputies would be the target for proper coverage.

The City of Alamo also offered to transfer equipment over to the sheriff’s office for the merger, but the city would not receive a discount in the first year for it. According to the proposal, “granting a discount in year one would undermine the Sheriff’s Office’s ability to properly staff, equip and insure deputies, which could put service levels at risk.”

The council’s decision in November resulted in an outsized attendance of residents for the December meeting, who were given three minutes each to speak to the council regarding any issues. These public comments were held prior to the council’s main agenda items.

Multiple residents expressed disapproval of the police department’s closure, claiming the council had not been transparent enough about the process or the department’s finances. Others expressed concerns that a merger could hamper the department’s ability to patrol the city.

During discussion of the police department, Woodard addressed the attendees, claiming the council members had also been surprised by Jones adding the item to the November agenda. 

“I thought we were going to set up something with the sheriff, the council and citizens to talk about this before we made a decision, but this was not the case,” said Woodard. “It was added to the agenda, and we didn’t win the vote.”

Woodard claimed the city had received a $246,000 grant for the police department to fund training and equipment purchases. While they had only used $14,000, the grant would remain until Oct. 31, 2026, and returning the grant due to the merger would present a logistical issue and damage the city’s ability to receive grants in the future.

She also noted much of the city’s equipment purchased with grant money could not be turned over to the county in any way.

In response, Jones argued the city’s usage of only $14,000 of the grant money was indicative of their inability to attract new applicants to the department.

“We can’t get candidates,” said Jones.

Woodard offered a motion to completely suspend all actions related to the turnover of the Alamo Police Department to the Wheeler County Sheriff’s Office until after Nov. 1, 2026, when the grant expired. She also suggested bringing in a third party to review the merger contract at that time.

In the vote, Woodard, Geter and Laura Brownley voted for the suspension of the closure, while Jones, Bobby Cox and Geoffrey Villegas voted against. As the tiebreaker, Mayor Pamela Lee voted for the suspension.

“At this time, I don’t feel like we’ve done our due diligence in what we need to do, so I vote with the yays,” said Lee.

In response to the vote, Jones addressed the attendees, claiming the decision to halt the merger was due to Angela Wright’s election. Wright was elected to the city council seat previously occupied by Bobby Cox, was sworn in by City Attorney Perry Avery during the December meeting and will begin her term in January 2026.

“Now keep in mind, there’s a new council next month, and the control is going to change, and that’s what it’s all about,” said Jones.

In other business, Woodard offered a motion to pay Sergeant James Ricks an additional $2 per hour for the time he spent acting as police chief, which passed unanimously.

The council also considered moving $100,000 to their East Side Park project account to pay for an unexpected expense. Brownley offered a motion to move the funds, which passed unanimously.

Woodard offered a motion to approve the purchase of new computers for the Alamo City Hall staff, replacing the current four to six year old machines, which passed unanimously. Villegas offered a motion to approve a new policy denoting allowable costs and expenses for grants, which passed unanimously.

The council also approved a millage rate of 8.173 following a motion from Woodard.

Woodard offered two motions to approve the 2026 check signings and the 2026 holiday schedule respectively, and Brownley offered a motion to approve the 2026 council meeting schedule. All motions passed unanimously.

The Alamo Fire Department reported five calls between Nov. 18 and Dec. 8, including three brush fires, one structure fire and one vehicle accident with injuries. The department also held three 3-hour trainings in that time period.

The Alamo Police Department reported 87 events for the agency in November, as well as 14 tickets issued and 13 crimes reported. 

For bank balances as of Dec. 8, the city reported the general fund balance totalled $801,984.55; the water and sewer account balance totalled $190,089.50; the fines and fees account balance totalled $10,043.77; the SPLOST account balance totalled $211,289.43; the school safety account balance totalled $639.82; the TLOST account balance totalled $116,834.55; the general fund savings CD totalled $78,726.90; the water and sewer savings CD totalled $210,126; the bond and sinking CD totaled $280,559.20; the ARP savings account balance totaled $20.40 and the Eastside Park project account balance totalled $393,848.69.