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Doing the same with less

Lakemore chooses wisely in arranging police protection

Published on Wednesday, May 20, 2009

This week, the Lakemore Village Council made the smart move, voting unanimously in favor of contracting with Springfield Township for police protection. For the smaller village, a difficult financial situation made deep cuts in its department inevitable. With a contract, Lakemore's eight full-time officers will be hired by Springfield. Annual savings are expected to be in the range of $200,000 or more. In other words, village residents will get the same level of service and save money.

The arrangement between Lakemore and Springfield is yet another sign that small-town, stand-alone police departments divert scarce resources into administrative overhead while demands for sophisticated and expensive protection increase. Other communities in Summit County have made similar arrangements, Boston Township contracting with Peninsula and Clinton contracting with New Franklin. Joint dispatching operations also are increasingly common in the area.

Still, such arrangements among smaller jurisdictions have their limits. The better way in the long run is for more suburban communities to contract with the Summit County sheriff's office, further centralizing administrative functions and dispatching, as well as making more efficient use of specialized units such as SWAT teams and detective bureaus. An added advantage is enhancing greatly the coordination needed to confront serious crimes that spread across many boundaries.

Mike Kolomichuk, the Lakemore mayor, called the process that led to Monday's vote ''agonizing.'' It need not be so. The joint committee that worked on the police contract deserves credit for analyzing well the benefits of a regional approach rather than letting mere sentiment get in the way.

This week, the Lakemore Village Council made the smart move, voting unanimously in favor of contracting with Springfield Township for police protection. For the smaller village, a difficult financial situation made deep cuts in its department inevitable. With a contract, Lakemore's eight full-time officers will be hired by Springfield. Annual savings are expected to be in the range of $200,000 or more. In other words, village residents will get the same level of service and save money.

Get the full article here.


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