PORTSMOUTH, Ohio (WCHS) — The Scioto County sheriff released a statement Wednesday denouncing the Portsmouth Police Department’s plan to expand the department’s services to Clay Township, citing concerns over budget and staffing.

In a statement, Sheriff David Thoroughman said expanding services “would result in a tremendous debt to the citizens of Portsmouth,” and said the city and department did not have the resources to operate outside the boundaries of the city, as proposed by Police Chief Debra. Brewer.

“While I worked to save the city, New Boston and the county money by developing centralized dispatch, Chief Brewer designed this plan without any communication with me,” Thoroughman said in the press release. “In the first meeting that Chief Brewer had with the Clay Township trustees, she informed the trustees that this plan would be a good fit for me because she was helping me. This is not a true statement and this false statement was made during their first meeting.

He said Portsmouth residents would pay to have fewer services while Clay residents would get less police protection.

According to the release, Chief Brewer proposed that the police department only needed two additional officers to patrol the township, but the sheriff disagreed.

“Common sense, as well as a simple Google search, tells us that it takes at least five people to fill a 24/7 position. Yet Chief Brewer can accomplish this by simply hiring two officers? he said. “There are three eight-hour shifts per day, which would require three officers. A minimum of two additional officers would be needed to replace these three officers on their days off.

“The personnel cost to the city for five officers, needed to cover Clay Township 24/7, is $640,796.90 per year. That’s $387,207.62 of more than Clay Township would pay to the city,” the sheriff said.

The sheriff argued that neither the city nor the township can afford to hire the additional patrol officers that would be needed to expand service.

“We are at a time when the City is still under financial surveillance. You can’t argue that it doesn’t reduce police coverage if you physically remove police from the city to work in the county,” Thoroughman said. “Look beyond the smoke and mirrors and you will see that what is presented to you is expensive. the citizens of Portsmouth and bad for the citizens of Clay Township.

Portsmouth police have not yet released a statement.