~by Janice Harbaugh for GreeneCountyNewsOnline
Jefferson mayor Matt Gordon spoke to the Greene County board of supervisors about the city’s law enforcement staffing concerns at the regular meeting on August 24. “Problems in staffing (the city police department) have been a concern for the past four years,” Gordon said.
Gordon said the Jefferson police department needs eight positions to be fully staffed and there are only five positions currently filled. He said he and sheriff Jack Williams have discussed coverage for the city in case the situation worsens.
Williams read a letter he had written to the board of supervisors explaining he does not have enough personnel to cover the needs of the city of Jefferson, in addition to the needs of the county.
“We would have to add six to eight deputies,” Williams said. “There are 1500 emergency calls (in Jefferson) a year.”
Williams also said any response from the sheriff’s department to cover situations in Jefferson would have to be for emergencies only. “We can’t do animal control, funerals, harassments.”
County attorney Thomas Laehn suggested looking into a 28E agreement between the city and county in which the city would pay the county for law enforcement as needed.
Chair John Muir observed, “The citizens of Jefferson are citizens of Greene County. We need to do our best to make sure there’s law enforcement coverage in Jefferson.”
It was noted during discussion that some services provided by city officers are not strictly law enforcement activities but are public services.
Muir said, “(Police chief) Mark (Clouse) and Jack can do the best they can to cover but it might not be at a level people are used to.”
The board wanted to know more about what the costs might be in a shared arrangement if additional deputies were hired. At this point, no information is available, but the board is now aware of possible problems in law enforcement coverage.
The Greene County sheriff’s department attracting applicants from the ranks of the city police force has been discussed at city council meetings. The higher salary schedule with the county is often cited as a reason city police officers apply for positions as deputies instead of staying with the city.
In a related topic, county attorney Thomas Laehn spoke about adult community service options for the county. Currently there is no program available for adult community service for offenders.
“It’s a worthwhile investment,” Laehn said. “At 50 people a year in a program, the community benefits from their work, 50 to 100 hours, and they benefit also.”
Laehn spoke about partnering with the juvenile offenders program and the possibility of state money being available. He said community service could become part of probation and could be overseen by volunteers.
Chair Muir encouraged Laehn to continue to look into setting up a community service program for adult offenders.
In other business, attorney Laehn reviewed a resolution setting a public hearing to incur debt to purchase the Midland Power Cooperative building and some of the property, located west of the Jefferson Municipal Cemetery.
The building would be remodeled as a law enforcement center, although the plan at this time does not include a new jail. Constructing a jail would be done at that location at a later date.
The resolution sets the amount of debt not to exceed $600,000, to be paid in full in four years.
The public hearing is set for Sept. 14 at 9:15 am in the courthouse board room. The entire resolution is included in the meeting minutes, posted under the Calendar/Agenda tab on GCNO.
Chair Muir said, “A year ago, the state inspector notified us the jail is not acceptable. This building came available and Midland worked with us on price. Down the road, we’ll need a new jail, too.”
Williams reported a burn ban has been issued for Greene County until further notice because of severe drought conditions.
Engineer Wade Weiss reported on damage to windows in the Mahanay Memorial Carillon Tower from the derecho Aug. 10 and repairs completed or scheduled. Weiss also reported damage to the Squirrel Hollow boat ramp and of assisting Dan Towers, conservation, with FEMA work on it.
The board adjourned into a drainage trustee meeting to approve pay estimate #1 for DD-187, located near Cooper in Franklin Township. The $80,482.50 payment was approved by the board.
