By Pamela Manson | [email protected] 

Officers with the new Herriman Police Department are on target to hit the streets Sept. 30 on their inaugural shifts, its chief says. 

“We keep hearing that there’s no way this can be done in four months, but our partners have come through for us at the highest level,” Police Chief Troy Carr said. 

The formation of the department began after a May 16 vote by the Herriman City Council to withdraw from the Unified Police Department and create its own force. Council members said the city was overpaying for the services it received from UPD and that Herriman could get more bang for its buck with its own department. 

At a July 11 council meeting, Carr said UPD patrol cars and other police vehicles are being rebranded, and plans for a police armory have been completed. 

Carr also said in his update that staffing will not be a problem because job postings have attracted an “amazing group” of candidates. He said 47 qualified applicants were vying for a position as sergeant and that more than 100 people had put in applications to be an officer. 

The chief, who was a UPD lieutenant before his appointment to the top job at the Herriman Police Department, had said at an earlier meeting that potential hires came from all over the Western United States. 

All job offers were expected to be sent out by the last week of July, according to Carr.

“I’m proud to say we’re on time, we’re on track,” he said.

John Inch Morgan, executive director of the Valley Emergency Communications Center, told the council that work setting up the 911 system also is on schedule.

“We’re ready to roll,” Morgan said. “As soon as you push the button, we’re ready to answer the call.”