OCALA, FL (352today.com) – On Monday, April 21, the Marion County Board of County Commissioners approved a request to allow additional Marion County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) Deputies into Dunnellon.
The “Approval of Agreement for Law Enforcement Services” request was submitted by Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods and the City of Dunnellon.
Per the agenda item, the City of Dunnellon requests MCSO to “furnish law enforcement services” within Dunnellon and “duly perform all necessary and appropriate functions, actions, and responsibilities of a law enforcement agency for Dunnellon.”
The Dunnellon City Council states that the agreement to bring additional MCSO deputies into the city is “in the best interests of the health, safety, and welfare of the City of Dunnellon and the general public.”
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The agreement states that MCSO will allocate six additional deputies to the City of Dunnellon, who must pay $10,673.83 monthly, totaling $64,043 from the implementation date through September 30, 2025.
The Marion County Board of County Commissioners followed through on the recommendation to approve the agreement between MCSO and the City of Dunnellon.
Ron Bray, captain of the Dunnellon Police Department, says the idea of bringing in sheriff’s deputies has been under consideration since former Chief Mike McQuaig retired in 2023.
“The city council re-evaluated and said, wait a minute, we need to consider if it’s going to be better to contract services with the sheriff’s department,” Bray said.
Bray says his department downsized to accommodate the incoming MCSO deputies.
Although the contract states that the deal between MCSO and Dunnellon is official as of May 13, Bray says that MCSO deputies have been actively patrolling the city since the beginning of April.