As the city of McMechen’s police department remains understaffed, they're calling for outside help.

In a letter sent to Marshall County's 911 director, the sheriff’s department addressed how the McMechen Police Department is no longer able to provide 24/7 coverage as a result of staffing shortages.

The sheriff’s office and West Virginia State Police are taking care of the extra load – and they’re not fully staff either.

"If an emergency call comes in from anywhere in the county, inside municipality, outside, we will respond,” Marshall County Sheriff Bill Helms said. “We definitely aren't shirking our duties; we are just prioritizing here.”

The county is also working on a shortened staff, so from now on they will only be attending emergency responses. All others will be redirected to the chief of McMechen Police or the mayor, David Goddard.

"So, if I order my deputies to take calls of a barking dog or parking complaint, I really feel that I’d be misusing my resources," Helms said.

Calls of serious or violent nature will be handled by the closest officer between the sheriff's office or state police.

And to try and tackle the shortage issue, commissioners have recently upped the salaries for deputies, hoping to hire new members soon.

"I’ve already started to see some improvement form that, our latest hiring list was bigger than normal, and I really anticipate putting a couple more people on at last," Helms said.

And Helms mentioned that wait times for low priority calls might be longer, but they are doing what they can to provide service.