New Franklin Police Chief Mike Wise formally submitted his resignation at the city council’s regular meeting on January 13. Wise is the only officer on staff. He said he is leaving in order to accept another job.

In a social media post on Facebook on January 15, Wise claimed the City of New Franklin has been cutting costs due to lost revenue regarding water leaks. “The city decided to cut my staff and only have two full time officers,” the post read. “April 2019 we lost the full time officer and with the financial crisis the city elected not to fill that position. Thus it left me to patrol 24/7.”

This newspaper has been unsuccessful in efforts to get in touch with Mr. Wise. He announced a year ago his intent to run for Howard County Sheriff in the 2020 election. It is unknown if he still plans to file his candidacy.

Without a police force, New Franklin would be forced to rely on the Howard County Sheriff’s Department for law enforcement. But Sheriff Mike Neal said he has never been approached by the city. His department has been helping patrol New Franklin for months and has yet to receive any compensation.

Neal said there needs to be an agreement between the City of New Franklin and the Howard County Sheriff’s Department that includes compensation for deputies. And unless his officers are sworn in by the city, they will be unable to enforce city ordinances.

To make matters worse, the Sheriff’s Department is stretched thin on manpower and will be down two deputies at the conclusion next week.