COOLEEMEE – Police Chief Bobby West is retiring on Sept. 3.

Town board members were expected to meet on Wednesday evening (Aug. 15) to discuss the future of the department.

A Davie native, West has been Cooleemee’s police chief for 11 years, during which reported crimes dropped an estimated 80 percent. The department always operated within the budget during his tenure, West said.

The department has been facing dwindling operating funds since Davie County changed the way sales taxes are distributed, with more going to the county and less to the three towns, he said.