A sheriff in one Kentucky county is warning residents to police themselves after he says he was forced to shut down his office due to a lack of funding.In a Facebook post, Martin County Sheriff John Kirk said his office did not receive a $75,000 payment it was owed from a fiscal court that should have been delivered last month.“Folks, lock your doors, load your guns and get you a barking, biting dog,” he wrote. “If the sheriff’s office can’t protect you, who will?”Kirk also said his office now is responsible for an additional $99,000 in annual expenditures.Kirk temporarily ended all law enforcement services, laid off a bookkeeper and limited operational hours to 8 a.m. to noon on weekdays. "My wife has worked many evenings and weekends free of charge to help the Sheriffs office stay afloat," he wrote. "She has a full time job and drives two and a half hours to and from her job everyday. She has saved the tax payers a fortune."The Lexington Herald-Leader reported that part of the funding issue is due to a major decline in coal severance taxes in eastern Kentucky. The newspaper said that money from an economic assistance fund has dropped by 80 percent since 2012 — from $34 million to $7.6 million. Kirk said state police would be responsible for answering any calls.

A sheriff in one Kentucky county is warning residents to police themselves after he says he was forced to shut down his office due to a lack of funding.

In a Facebook post, Martin County Sheriff John Kirk said his office did not receive a $75,000 payment it was owed from a fiscal court that should have been delivered last month.


“Folks, lock your doors, load your guns and get you a barking, biting dog,” he wrote. “If the sheriff’s office can’t protect you, who will?”

Kirk also said his office now is responsible for an additional $99,000 in annual expenditures.

Kirk temporarily ended all law enforcement services, laid off a bookkeeper and limited operational hours to 8 a.m. to noon on weekdays.

"My wife has worked many evenings and weekends free of charge to help the Sheriffs office stay afloat," he wrote. "She has a full time job and drives two and a half hours to and from her job everyday. She has saved the tax payers a fortune."

The Lexington Herald-Leader reported that part of the funding issue is due to a major decline in coal severance taxes in eastern Kentucky. The newspaper said that money from an economic assistance fund has dropped by 80 percent since 2012 — from $34 million to $7.6 million.

Kirk said state police would be responsible for answering any calls.

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