Trumbull County is now a step closer to welcoming its new sheriff.  On Wednesday, sheriff-elect Paul Monroe took the oath of office.  He was one of a number of elected officials to be sworn in throughout the Valley.

"My staff has been training with the current sheriff and his staff and meeting a lot of the employees and we just can't wait to get started," said Monroe.

While the sheriff officially doesn't begin work until after the first part of the year, he has already begun to assemble his administration team.  Some members of his new team are familiar names from other local law enforcement agencies.

"I'm bringing some fresh staff on board across the street.  I'm going to start off with the chief deputy Joe Dragovich, who is a district lieutenant with the state patrol.  He has 24 years there.  Jeff Palmer who is the police chief in Girard and lieutenant Dan Mason from the city of Warren," said Monroe.

The changes within the department come a time when crime is on the rise in Trumbull County and budgets are tight.  Judge Wyatt McKay, who was sworn for a sixth term Wednesday, says a lot has changed over the course of his 30 years on the bench

"I actually thought we were making a pretty good dent in crime around here and some other things in the early 90s and into 2000 and I think we were, but then the drug epidemic hit and heroin, crystal meth and that and all of a sudden crime came back.  We've had more indictments than we've ever had," said Judge McKay.

The incoming sheriff says he is committed to making the Trumbull County sheriffs department the best in Ohio. He hopes his new position is one in which he'll serve Trumbull County for years to come.