NEWS
A2 • NORTHWEST PRESS • APRIL 4, 2012
Police Continued from Page A1
» Promote to full-time, third shift records clerk from a current part-time position and replace the parti-time employee. The new full-time clerk will contribute at the new 20 percent rate for insurance. » Conduct a selection process for police officers and hire one additional full-time officer. » Appoint 14 reserve police officers in 2012. Reserve officers will be certified police officers who will perform police officer and clerk duties. The additional staff will allow the department to remain open around the clock. Officers would be selected under the same criteria as full-time officers and would be required to participate in all mandated training, including field training. The plan would promote three reserve of-
Index Calendar .................B2 Classfieds .................C Food ......................B3 Life ........................B1 Deaths ...................B6 Schools ..................A5 Sports ....................A7 Viewpoints .............A8
ficers to full-time positions each year, through 2017. All officers would begin at the newly established entry-level salary. “This allows the police department to maintain a budget that was anticipated to extend our five-year 2007 police levy through a sixth year,” he said. “The levy expires this year, and we plan to stretch it through 2013.” Trustees approved the plan, but cautioned the chief to go slowly. Board president Jeff Ritter said the township has to have a plan in place and he wants to make sure the township doesn’t act prematurely. He said the township would be flexible in what is implemented as more information becomes available. Trustee Dennis Deters said he wanted to clarify some information he’s heard. “Colerain Township was committed to this partnership with the sheriff’s office; the sheriff
changed the score,” Deters said. “We did nothing. They came to us and said we need more money. We are a township that’s been dealt a significant amount of difficulty on the budget side. We can’t deal with these kinds of curve balls.” Deters said he doesn’t want to react until his hand is forced, advising the department not move too quickly as the plan is implemented. “Let’s start to lay the foundation. We need to know exactly what we’re dealing with from the sheriff’s office.” Ritter said the township has to move forward, but cautiously. “We are going to try to preserve the relationship if we can, but we are prepared for the worst,” he said. “We put a great plan together and we will be covered either way. That’s what residents should take home from this. We’ve got your back. We always will have your back.”
Sale
display due to budget constraints resulting from state funding cuts. Thanks to the sponsorship, the 15th annual Northgate Mall/Colerain Township Fourth of July Spectacular will take place Saturday, July 7. This year’s show will be fireworks only; no entertainment is planned.
Continued from Page A1
substation in the mall and will provide police coverage at the mall during business hours. In January the Colerain Township trustee’s cancelled the annual fireworks
Green Twp. in talks with sheriff Gannett News Service Fourteen percent – or 22 of Hamilton County’s 150 patrol officers – could disappear from township streets because the communities where those deputies work can’t afford them. Commissioners cut the patrol budget by $4 million for this year saying the county could no longer afford to provide 65 free patrols and that townships would have to pick up the cost. But, the townships can’t all afford to pay those deputies in the wake of several funding cuts. Hamilton County Sheriff Simon Leis detailed the loss at the Board of Commissioners staff meeting Monday, March 26. He’s losing 30 officers in four townships, but two townships – Miami and Sycamore – are adding four officers each. The biggest losses come to Green and Colerain Townships – both of which have their own police departments. Colerain is losing 11 officers; Green 6, Leis said. At the meeting, Board of Commissioners President Greg Hartmann asked the sheriff: “Who will the gap be covered by?” The sheriff responded: “I don’t know.”
Green Township Trustee Rocky Boiman said the township is still negotiating with Boiman the sheriff’s office, but said the township will make sure there are enough police patrolling the West streets. “We’re very confident everything will remain the same in terms of safety for Green Township residents,” Boiman said. The township pays the sheriff’s office $456,000 annually for six deputies, and he said the sheriff provides the township six deputies at no cost. However, he said unfortunately that arrangement is likely a thing of the past. “Every entity is examining their budgets and making cuts right now.” Green Township Police Chief Bart West, who oversees a township police force comprised of 33 full-time officers, said he’s hopeful the township will lose less than six sheriff’s deputies. Whether the township loses six, four or two deputies, West said the department will have a plan in place for protecting residents. “The public is most
concerned with having a quick response from an officer when they pick up the phone and call us,” he said. “We want to make sure our street strength stays strong.” He said he’s considering several options for covering the loss, including reallocating supervisors and investigators to road patrol. “Everyone is under budget constraints,” he said. “We have to figure out how to work a little smarter and stronger.” At the end of last year Leis had about 150 deputies working in 10 townships – 85 that the townships paid for and 65 the county paid for. The county-provided patrols have long been controversial because every taxpayer in Hamilton County chips in for those free patrols, but threefourths of county taxpayers also pay for their own police departments. Surrounding counties and other urban counties across the state have long required townships to pay for patrols. As part of the 2012 county general fund budget, the Board of Commissioners slashed $4 million from the patrol program, dropping funding from $5.5 million to $1.5 million. By 2015, Leis said all county-provided patrols will end. Kurt Backscheider contributed to this story
NORTHWEST PRESS
Find news and information from your community on the Web Colerain Township • cincinnati.com/coleraintownship Hamilton County • cincinnati.com/hamiltoncounty
News
Jennie Key Community Editor ..........853-6272, jkey@communitypress.com Heidi Fallon Reporter ...................853-6265, hfallon@communitypress.com Kurt Backscheider Reporter ............853-6260, kbackscheider@communitypress.com Melanie Laughman Sports Editor ......248-7573, mlaughman@communitypress.com Nick Dudukovich Sports Reporter .....248-7570, ndudukovich@communitypress.com Tom Skeen Sports Reporter.............576-8250, tskeen@communitypress.com
Advertising
Doug Hubbuch Territory Sales Manager ...............687-4614, dhubbuch@communitypress.com Sue Gripshover Account Relationship Specialist ......768-8327, sgripshover@communitypress.com
Delivery
For customer service...................853-6263, 853-6277 Sharon Schachleiter Circulation Manager ..................853-6279, sschachleiter@communitypress.com Mary Jo Schablein District Manager.......................853-6278
Classified
To place a Classified ad ................242-4000, www.communityclassified.com
To place an ad in Community Classified, call 242-4000.
neighborhood living for older adults
REAL ESTATE THIS WEEK By Mark Schupp
Downsizing a Home Part 1 of 2, see April 11th ad
LET’S FACE IT, A TOUR NEVER TASTED SO GOOD! You are cordially invited to a tour of Maple Knoll Village’s Coventry Court. Visit each of the four floor plans that make up this quaint neighborhood while you enjoy samples of scrumptious food from the award-winning Manor House Restaurant.
TOUR AND TASTE, FEATURING FOOD FROM THE MANOR HOUSE RESTAURANT Thursday, April 19th from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm The Manor House Restaurant, 600 Maple Trace Dr, Springdale, OH 45246
When a person comes to a certain age and the children move out and on with their own lives, a home may become too big for its occupants. At this point, residents may feel it’s time to downsize to a smaller home. Downsizing can be exciting and challenging at the same time. Going through and packing belongings can be a trip down memory lane. But chances are a smaller space will mean that a person will have to part with a number of his belongings collected over time. To make the process easier, first assess how much space there will be in the new home. Many times floor plans or room dimensions are available. First measure large items, such as furniture, to be sure it will fit in the rooms. Then think about storage possibilities. Next, make a running list of what items can be discarded and where those items will go. Some belongings can be donated to charity, while others may be given to family and friends. Many other things could end up in the trash or recycling bins. Knowing where things will go will make them easier to sort. Metro Editorial Library Mark Schupp has been a Real Estate Agent for the past 31 years and is a Certified Residential Specialist. He has won many awards including the Top Unit Producer for 1999 and 2000 (last year awarded) in the Cincinnati Board of Realtors and Top 1% Residential Real Estate Agent in the Nation.
For more information call 513.782.2717 or visit our Web Site at mapleknoll.org. 11100 Springfield Pike, Cincinnati, OH 45246 | 513.782.2717 | mapleknoll.org CE-0000504890
CE-0000502095
For professional advice on all aspects of buying or selling real estate, contact Mark Schupp at Star One Realtors. Please call me at 385-0900 (office) or 385-0035 (home) or visit my website: www.markschupp.com