PONTIAC (WWJ) - A changing of the guard in Pontiac, Sunday night, as the police department handed over their duties to the Oakland County Sheriff’s office.

Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard believes the move will improve safety in Pontiac.

“I think the marriage of our two agencies give us the ability to put more people on the street, and hopefully tag some of the problems that many communities are facing these days,” said Bouchard.

Sheriff Mike Bouchard says they will use 63 former Pontiac patrolmen — who are now employed by the county.

“So what you’re going to see is all the of 50 current officers that are patrolling the streets of Pontiac in a Pontiac uniform, and another 13 that are currently on layoff status, we’ve hired. So they’ll be blended together with the addition of another group of our deputies to go out and work side by side to help give the city of Pontiac, hopefully, a brighter future,” said Bouchard.

The move will save the city of Pontiac about $2 million dollars a year.