A sense of security is returning slowly to the residents of Alexandria, TN, after a misguided city policy caused all of the town’s police officers to leave the force.

According to Nashville-area newspaper The Tennessean, the city’s chief of police and both full-time officers quit their jobs after their shifts Aug. 23, in protest of a proposal that limited the police to nighttime shifts only as a way to save taxpayer money.

The no-day-shift policy was quickly reversed after the officers’ departure; however, none of the men returned to work. A new police chief was hired, but only one new full-time officer has been hired so far.