Cedartown City Commissioners will get their chance to vote on whether to join up and form a combined tri-county Drug Task force with Haralson and Paulding counties after the County Commission and Rockmart City Council already approved the proposal and approved it in March and April.
Cedartown’s Commission agenda includes a vote on “exploring the option of joining the Haralson-Paulding DTF” as one of their items on their agenda for the May 8 meeting.
County Commissioners held a special called session in late March to discuss and vote on the issue to get the ball rolling on the proposal, changing direction from the current Polk County Drug Task Force that includes the County Police, Sheriffs Office, Cedartown Police and Rockmart Police.
After their vote, the Rockmart City Council discussed and voted on the issue during their April regular session. Two out of the three government partners agree to it, with Cedartown’s participation the only ones left to consider.
If Cedartown approves, the next hurdle will be getting permission from the GBI-led Haralson-Paulding Drug Task Force control board to combine Polk County back into the fold. A meeting of the control board is expected later this month.
Previously, Polk County law enforcement was part of the Haralson-Paulding DTF, but the county decided in the 2010s to form their own unit which has been in operation over the last decade.
The hopes of the county when making the proposal is that a combined effort of the three counties will lead to a greater number of arrests, a decrease in trafficking, sharing of intelligence between agencies and more resources and training for participating officers among other priorities being sought by Polk County’s municipalities as a whole in the move.
Check back next week for more on the Cedartown City Commission’s decision on the Drug Task Force proposal.
