MIDVALE — After more than 100 years of service, the Midvale Police Department will be no more come midnight Friday.
The Midvale police and fire departments will become part of the Unified Police Department and Unified Fire Authority.
Tuesday evening, Midvale's approximately 50 officers will be sworn in as Unified officers. They will officially begin their first shifts as members of Unified police at midnight early Friday morning.
"Agencies across the valley are talking about better communication and consolidating services. The Midvale merger is a concrete step in that direction," said Salt Lake County Sheriff Jim Winder.
About 45 members of the Midvale Fire Department will have a badge exchange ceremony Tuesday night, switching their Midvale fire badges for ones that say Unified fire.
Midvale's fire chief will become an assistant chief with Unified Fire Authority and the department's fire marshal, said Unified Fire Capt. Cliff Burningham. The department will also add a new battalion with its new employees and will be able to take steps to better serve the entire county such as move a hazardous materials unit to the east side, he said.
Currently, Unified hazmat units are based on the west side. But Midvale fire comes with one of their own, Burningham said. Midvale fire also has a ladder truck.
"It's a good sharing of resources. Midvale is a pretty busy city. They're a well trained department," he said. "It's great personnel we've merged with."
In March, Midvale officials said they were looking for a way to make up a potential $2 million deficit in its proposed 2011-12 budget. One idea being explored was to contract police and fire services.
In April, the Midvale City Council voted unanimously to merge with the Unified Police Department and Unified Fire Authority.
For the past month, Midvale officers have attended Unified police training classes to orient them on how the department runs. Midvale's police cars now have the Unified police logo rather than Midvale police.
"We're very excited Midvale is going to be joining us," said Unified Police Sgt. Justin Hoyal. "We've been working several months to make it a smooth transition."
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