MT. VERNON — The Mt. Vernon Police Department and Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office will once again have a combined narcotics division serving the county. The final approval came at Tuesday night’s Mt. Vernon city council meeting.

Mt. Vernon Police Chief Trent Page says the division was initially created in 2004, but the Sheriff’s Office pulled out of the agreement a few years ago. With the administration change at the Sheriff’s Office, Page says new sheriff Jeff Bullard approached him about bringing back the combined narcotics unit which led to initial discussions. He says working together with the Sheriff’s Office helps combine limited resources and better serve city and county residents.

Bullard says an exact date for when the unit will start their work is not yet known, but it will start in the next few weeks.