HOSCHTON — Those who live or work in Hoschton will soon have to rely solely on the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office for police assistance.

In a move that angered many residents and local business owners, the Hoschton City Council voted Wednesday to cut all funding to the city’s police department in order to combat a major budget shortfall.

Following a 4-1 vote, the council approved its 2010 amended budget, which includes no funding for a police department or planning and development department.

Councilman Richard Shepherd voted against the decision and Councilman Jim Cleveland was absent from the meeting as he continues to recover from a motorcycle accident on New Year’s Day.

“Our public safety department is going to go dormant,” Councilman Scott Butler said. “We don’t want it to go away forever, but right now in this crisis situation that we’re in, we are going to have to lay people off and take it dormant.”

Previously, the council announced the city was facing a deficit in both its general and water and sewer fund budgets.

Cutting the police department will reduce general fund expenses by $299,000, and dissolving the planning and development department will reduce expenses by $60,000. Those reductions, Butler said, should allow Hoschton to financially survive this year as well as 2011.

Hoschton is currently repaying $6.1 million in loans to the Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority. The city received some financial relief to help with the debt after settling a lawsuit with its former wastewater treatment plant engineer last year.

This funding will not be available next year, however, and Butler said Hoschton may face a $427,000 deficit in 2011.

By cutting the planning and development and police departments, Butler said Hoschton will be able to place $276,000 in a reserve fund this year that can be used to address next year’s likely deficit.

Hoschton’s 2010 general fund budget revenues are expected to be $439,000 and its expenses $235,000. Its water and sewer fund revenues are expected to reach $1.1 million and expenses $1 million.

The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office will now serve as Hoschton’s primary law enforcement agency. Residents will not have to pay extra for the service as it is already included in their county tax bills, Hoschton Mayor Erma Denney said.

Currently, Hoschton has three police officers working 40-hour work weeks with Jackson County covering the city on weekends and holidays.

However, Shepherd said he believed some services the city’s police force provides will be reduced when Jackson County takes control. He said the county also is dealing with budget constraints and has a much larger area to patrol, which does not allow it to be in Hoschton all the time.

The sheriff’s office splits its coverage area into four zones. Sheriff Stan Evans said he tries to keep at least two officers in each zone at all times. Even with its own budgetary cutbacks, Evans said his department will do its best to provide adequate coverage for Hoschton.

“Of course, like every agency, we have limited resources,” he said. “We’ll cover it the best we can and devote as much time as we can there.”

Evans also noted the partnership the county and city police departments share will be missed with the dissolution of Hoschton’s force.

“But that’s the way it works and this is the situation at hand and we’ll take care of it the best we can and make sure we have a safe community there in Hoschton to provide our citizens with the best opportunity that we can,” he said.

During the meeting, Shepherd also mentioned that response times would increase with county coverage.

Last November, former Chief Jeremy Howell estimated Hoschton’s response time was less than four minutes. Evans said the county’s average response time is 8.4 minutes.

While it was a difficult decision to disband the department, Denney said it was one that had to be made.

“We are not disputing that’s it is wonderful to have our own municipal police department,” she said. “However, what you need to be very clear of is it is a redundant service.”

A lengthy and at times contentious discussion between the council and residents followed the announcement.

Tracy Jordan, a Hoschton resident and business owner, said she, too, believed public safety services would suffer without a city police force.

“I know that it sounds great that we need to cut this budget and balance it. As a business owner, I understand that,” she said. “But I don’t think that you are accurately representing the wants and needs of the citizens. We elected you. I think you need to listen to us.”

Several residents even voiced support for paying a property tax to keep the police department. However, Denney maintained that the current council was opposed to enacting a tax.

Councilwoman Theresa Kenerly said she didn’t know if implementing a tax would even be enough to save the department.

“We’ve looked over this, we’ve beat it to death, we’ve gotten rid of everything we have, except employees,” she said. “So what we’ve talked about is putting it dormant. That doesn’t mean we’re getting totally rid of it.”

Denney said the city will reinstate the department once Hoschton sees some “economic recovery.” A date for when Hoschton police will stop patrolling the city has not been set, she said.

The council also voted to abandon and sell the two Dodge Chargers purchased last year for the police department using money from Hoschton’s recent settlement. Funds from this sale will be placed back into the water and sewer fund, said Butler.

The city also plans to surplus other public safety items, and money from these sales will be placed in a public safety reserve fund.

Butler said the city hopes the sales generate $45,000.

The council plans to meet again at 5 p.m. Friday to discuss “administrative” matters concerning Wednesday’s decision.