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The sheriff's office still offers a bargain for the region
Published on Tuesday, May 05, 2009
The assumption no longer holds. Starting last fall, the sheriff's office and the county executive's department of finance and budget, headed by Linda Phelps, grappled with the question during budget discussions. Over time, the dispatching center has taken on more responsibility. The contracts with suburban communities now account for roughly half of the dispatching work. What's more, some smaller communities, such as Springfield Township and Lakemore Village, with their own police departments, already pay the sheriff for handling such calls.
Thus, the latest round of contract proposals contained substantial increases. Some local officials were stunned. As explained by Beacon Journal staff writer Phil Trexler, the proposed cost for the sheriff's office covering Northfield Center Township was about $547,000 for this year, up from $486,500. Around $40,000 involves dispatching. Northfield Center and Coventry townships and the city of Green are negotiating. Twinsburg Township has settled for one year; Akron-Canton Airport, for three.
Summit County's general fund cannot subsidize suburban law-enforcement indefinitely. If there were misunderstandings about dispatching costs in the past, that's no excuse for continuing lax and inconsistent practices. Phelps says increased costs for dispatching may be phased in, but the county wants new three-year contracts with no net subsidies.
That's a tough stance. Still, it bears repeating that the sheriff's office remains the best deal for small communities. In Northfield's case, $40,000 would not support even one dispatcher, let alone three for the township with its own department.
The sharpest comparison came in 2007, when Norton voters considered, then rejected, a contract with the sheriff's office for $1.2 million. To put the same number of officers on the street, Norton had budgeted about $2.5 million. With costs growing, for modern, computerized dispatching, crime-scene investigations and other operations, a regional approach to policing remains the best option.
Get the full article here.
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