This story was updated at 5 p.m. Friday.

Wake County will take control of the county’s firearms training center away from the Wake County Sheriff’s Office.

The county will determine the “appropriate balance of use between the public and law enforcement,” according to a memo sent to Sheriff Gerald Baker Friday afternoon from Wake County Manager David Ellis.

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“We will work with you and your staff on a transition plan to ensure law enforcement has the appropriate use of and continued access to this facility for training purposes,” the memo said.

The Sheriff’s Office abruptly ended its contract with Range Safety Management (RSM) because of the company’s “lack of profitability” and cash handling concerns, according to a Wednesday news release from the Sheriff’s Office. RSM manages the part of the center that is open to the public.

More than 5,000 people signed a petition to keep the center open to the public.

Moving too quickly?

The chairman of the Wake County commissioners says Sheriff Gerald Baker acted too hastily in announcing a plan to close the county’s firearms training center to the public.

“It’s important to note that the county owns the facility, and the Sheriff’s Office operates it,” Commissioner Greg Ford said in a statement late Wednesday. “Based on this joint partnership, it’s reasonable to assume that we would reach an agreement on a decision of this magnitude together before making an announcement. That was not the case (Wednesday).”

There was a 2008 agreement between the county and the Sheriff’s Office stating the sheriff would oversee the management of the firearms center even though the county owns the property. Friday’s memo states the county will now oversee the management of the center.

“The Sheriff’s Office is, essentially, a tenant of the building the county owns and given the tenant has canceled the contract with the vendor, and is not acting in good faith as a partner with the county as intended, we are reviewing all options,” Ford said Wednesday.

The Sheriff’s Office had agreed to honor classes for the public through Jan. 5.

“It is never helpful when you are in a relationship or partnership and one party is making a significant decision and not letting the other member of that relationship know about it in advance or even discussing it with us before making an announcement,” Ford said. “This is not about party or politics, this is about public service.”

Conflicting statements

The Sheriff’s Office’s news release stated county staff “agreed with the decision, after reviewing what amounted to a lack of financial stability, resulting in the sheriff’s office subsidizing the private company’s sustainability, for the past seven years,” according to a WCSO memo.

Ford said that is not true.

“The sheriff’s statement clearly says there was collaboration between his office and Wake County government staff and that is, unfortunately, not the case,” he said.

No Wake County staff members who “would normally be involved” were contacted or knew closing the center to the public was a possibility, Ford said.

In a phone call Thursday, sheriff’s spokesperson Eric Curry said the statement’s reference to “the decision” that county staff had agreed to was actually about the county’s awareness of the financial concerns.

“In the statement, it was (that) the county staff was aware of the accounting inconsistencies, but in regard to the decision making, (the) decision of canceling the contract was solely the sheriff’s,” Curry said.

When asked if county staff knew the center would be closed to the public before the news release was sent out, Curry said the sheriff made the decision with input from his senior staff and staff members at the training center, but he wasn’t sure whom Baker spoke with.

Ford also called the “findings” about handling money insignificant.