In the early-morning hours Wednesday, the city of Kemp disbanded their police department due to budget issues.

Richard Clemmo, the former police chief, said there were five officers let go including himself.

"Everybody’s pretty upset, shocked, you know," Clemmo said. "We’ve got several guys that got families, wives, little ones to take care of. And the paycheck stops."

NBC 5 reached out to Kemp Mayor, Donald Kile. He declined to comment on camera, but released a statement, saying the following:

"We know that this is a very tough situation for several of our City employees and we terribly regret that these actions had to be taken, but the City's financial situation has deteriorated to such an extent that immediate measures were necessary. We will offer whatever support we can to our former employees when they seek positions elsewhere."

Kaufman County Sheriff David Byrnes said the sheriff's department will be responding to calls for the town of 1,100 going forward.

"We will continue to serve the citizens of Kemp just like we always have," Byrnes said.

The sheriff's department already dispatched calls for Kemp, so there are no changes to 911 service for citizens. For non emergency calls, Kemp citizens are asked to call 972-932-4337.

No other city employees are believed to be at risk of layoffs at this time.