As a direct result of the unilateral refusal of the Versailles City Council to offer some relief from the significant increase to the amount Midway is contractually obliged to pay for its share of the countywide services offered by the Versailles Police Department (VPD) for FY 2026, Midway Mayor Grayson Vandegrift appointed a nine-person task force to study options for providing law enforcement coverage for the town of 1,755. Midway’s share is approximately $454,000.
“For the last 20 years, this arrangement seemed to work and it met the purpose of merging services . . . saving taxpayer money for all concerned,” Vandegrift said at the July 7 Midway City Council meeting. “We even paid more than required. We were asked a few years ago to pay more – we did – and last year, when the city wanted to expand and improve its 9-1-1 system, we kicked in $90,000.”
But, as Vandegrift pointed out, “We are stewards and fiduciaries of the funds we collect as elected officials, but the cost has more than doubled since 2023 . . . the cost has risen from 10% of our general fund expenditures to now it is 23%.”
Vandegrift also referenced public comments made to him during the June 17 Versailles City Council meeting, where he recalled a councilmember saying “Midway is just bluffing . . .” to mean “they are basically implying Versailles can charge whatever it wants and we just have to pay and we have no options.”
The determination of options for the city is the reason Vandegrift said the task force is needed.
“No one needs to go into this with a preconceived notion, everyone needs to be open-minded and willing to change their mind depending on what is learned,” he said. “The goal is to determine the best solution and to not politicize this . . . to keep an open mind and go where the research leads.”
The appointed members, all Midway residents, are: Vandegrift, Councilmembers Mary Raglin who possesses significant law enforcement experience, Logan Nance, as chair of the Public Works & Service Committee, and Patrick Hall, an attorney; Detective Ian Thurman with the University of Kentucky Police Department and retired from Kentucky Alcoholic Beverage Control; James Starks, a retired Kentucky State Police detective who worked as a private investigator for many years; Cindy Sharon Karrick, a native and lifelong resident familiar with the former Midway Police and Woodford County Police; Dale Benson, former councilmember who helped negotiate the original 2003 agreement; and Susan Cottingham, who has significant fiscal and analytic experience. The task force is expected to begin work in two weeks.
Vandegrift set out three issues for the task force to address and return with a recommendation to the City Council: (1) Research what other comparable cities are paying for police and how they are staffed and equipped; (2) Using that research, come to a consensus on the best course forward; and, (3) Serve as an ongoing resource to the mayor and council in possible negotiations with Versailles and the county or in implementing a different option.
As reported by the Sun, other than the Woodford County Sheriff’s office, VPD is the only law enforcement agency for the county. Under the terms of the most recent agreement in 2023, which is actually two agreements (Versailles has separate interlocal agreements with Midway and Woodford County Fiscal Court), neither Midway nor the county participates in formulating the VPD’s budget nor voting on any extra-budgetary items or capital expenditures later approved. Versailles simply sends Midway and the county a bill representing each of their shares of the total budget, with follow-up bills for non-budgetary items.
Councilmember Steve Simoff, who attended the June 2 Versailles City Council meeting, expressed his disappointment — not so much with the outcome but with how Vandegrift and the entire issue was treated by members of the Council.
“(Vandegrift’s) comments were polite and respectful,” he said. “Councilmember Siegelman came off very differently . . . I thought it was a campaign speech, my way or the highway. It came off that he was even threatening his own council members. It was just disheartening to hear, quite theatrical.”
The current agreement is not up for renegotiation for an additional seven years – though all three municipalities have tentatively agreed to re-open the agreement for negotiations in the spring which, for the first time, will include all three municipalities at the same table instead of Versailles requiring each one to negotiate separately.
Insurance premium
tax increase
Vanderbilt proposed an ordinance increasing the tax paid by insurance companies on premiums they collect on policies sold in Midway from 5% to 10%, the same rate Versailles charges.
Otherwise, he said, given Midway will be paying significantly more for police coverage, the city would need to postpone several projects such as road paving and other public works to cover the increase. Vanderbilt said if the new rate is approved, then the city will see an increase in revenues of $240,000 a year – enough to cover the police increase.
Council approved the first reading of the ordinance and it will be given its second reading at the next meeting. However, Vandegrift warned that the increase cannot go into effect before March 31, 2026. Vanderbilt acknowledged that he knew these costs would ultimately get passed on to the purchasers, the residents and the businesses of Midway, but said this was the best road forward.