Sheriff Kenneth Tregoning called on state lawmakers Monday to take Carroll policing out of the hands of the county commissioners.
He asked the county?s State House delegation to hold a referendum to allow voters to decide whether they want a county police force or to amend state law to exclude Carroll commissioners from being able to appoint a county force.
Tregoning charged that county residents have had no say in the decision to scale back his department and move to a countywide police force.
“This project is moving forward at a pace that I?m totally uncomfortable with,” Tregoning said at a meeting of Carroll?s commissioners and state delegation. “It all seemed to be on a fast track with no public input.”
Commissioners voted unanimously in October to move from policing by the sheriff?s office and state police to a county police force with an appointed chief.
“I don?t know that law enforcement was included” in the decision, Tregoning said. “Certainly I was not, yet it has a significant impact on my office.”
No public hearing has been held, but county officials have been meeting with state police to plan the transition, said Steven Powell, county chief of staff.
The commissioners? vote would phase out over the next five years the only Resident Trooper Program in the state. Under the program, the county pays the state about $5.3 million for 45 troopers to patrol Carroll.
And after adding about 30 deputies in the previous eight years, the commissioners would also reduce the role of the sheriff?s office with their vote.
Commissioner Dean Minnich said he thinks an elected sheriff may be more interested in getting re-elected than in controlling crime, but he added he was shocked to hear of the sheriff?s outrage.
“I felt we?d been holding back on this rather than accelerating,” Minnich said. “I?m kind of surprised by all this.”
Sen. Larry Haines, R-District 5, said that because the county is receiving less funding from the state, it should have waited to make its decision.
Carroll is expected to get at least $8.5 million less than expected from the state this year after the General Assembly?s special session to close the state?s $1.6 billion structural deficit.
