Residents of Virginia Town Reject Plan to Dissolve Police Department

Amid backlash from residents, leaders in a Virginia town voted Tuesday to keep Purcellville's police force a week after they tried to eliminate it to save more than $3 million, according to reports.

The town of Purcellville, located in Loudoun County, Virginia, has found itself around $50 million in the red following the construction of a major wastewater treatment facility, and the council sought to tighten the town’s budget by disbanding the local police department and relying on the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office for law enforcement, Fox reports.

The initial decision to dismantle the police department led to recall petitions to remove several council members and Vice Mayor Ben Nett from office. Council members who proposed eradicating the force said they wanted to do so to reduce water bills for the town’s 9,000 residents.

But the council reversed course and voted to fund the police force at $3.2 million for 2026 at a jam-packed town council meeting Tuesday where outraged residents and other officials voiced their concerns about the proposal.