If the Bienville Sheriff's Office takes over the Ringgold Police Department, it won't be the first time that's happened in the area.

In DeSoto parish, six sheriff's deputies are assigned to the town of Logansport full-time.  

"It's worked out very well for us," said Mayor Katherine Freeman.

Freeman says eleven years ago when her late husband was the mayor, he asked the sheriff to take over the police department because it was too expensive and difficult for the town to keep qualified officers.

"It seemed we would educate, send the police to school and then as soon as they got trained, a larger city that paid more would hire them out from under us," said Freeman.

Sheriff Rodney Arbuckle says the town of Logansport pays his office $280,000 a year for the full-time deputies.

"What we put in there in salaries and equipment, $280,000 really doesn't cover that, but if they had no police department, we would have to furnish law enforcement anyway and by this way they are trying to help," said Arbuckle.

Arbuckle says he hired two of the town's police officers when his office took over police department.

Mayor Freeman says as long as the town keeps saving money and keeps staying safe, sheriff's deputies will keep patrolling the streets.

The mayor of Ringgold has asked the Bienville sheriff to take over the town's police department.

Mayor Stephone Taylor says it will save the town more than $100,000, but the Sheriff John Ballance says he will only take over the department if the citizens want it.

Ringgold is holding a town meeting Tuesday night at seven.