Chagrin Solon Sun editorial: "Disband Woodmere Police Department"

Please read it for yourself, but here's an excerpt:

As we see it, from a numbers standpoint, the decision is quite simple. Paying Orange $500,000 a year to provide police protection to the village is a much better alternative than paying the salaries and benefits of nine full-time officers as well as equipment, vehicles, uniforms and facility maintenance. This is a move that must be made, and soon.

...

We realize the police department is one of the few things Woodmere can boast as its own, and taking that away could open the door to the village eventually losing its identity altogether and being merged with Orange or Pepper Pike. Maintaining the stubborn stance of keeping the department for pride’s sake, however, will only hasten the demise of the village. As much as Woodmere residents may want the village to hold on to one of the few remaining things it can truly call its own, they also have to look at the big picture and realize that the village cannot afford to maintain the status quo.

It's an editorial that definitely acknowledges a number of problematic elements related to why this wasn't Mayor Smith's first choice even after the state audit indicated that he needed to downsize his Village's PD. But even so, just being empathetic, this cannot be easy - though I suspect once it's accomplished, many people may come to feel like they should have done it sooner.