COLUMBIANA Council OKs funds for new patrolman

The law director continues to study civil service hiring rules, the manager said.
By NANCY TULLIS
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
COLUMBIANA -- Council moved closer to hiring a full-time police officer, approving an ordinance making money available for the position.
Village Manager Keith Chamberlin, however, did not make a recommendation for the position. He said Law Director Dan Blasdell continues to study hiring of police under the civil service requirements.
According to the 2000 census, Columbiana's population is now 5,635, enough to give the village city status. A municipality must achieve or maintain a population of 5,000 or more to be recognized as a city.
Civil service: Chamberlin said that after receiving word from the state that Columbiana is indeed a city, officials will form a civil service commission. Employees will be required to meet civil service hiring requirements and have the option of collective bargaining.
A 2 percent increase in the amount of village income tax revenue into the general fund is sufficient to make funds available. The ordinance changes the disbursement of village income tax revenue from 60 percent for capital improvements and 40 percent for the general fund to 58 percent for capital improvements and 42 percent for the general fund.
Before voting to approve the funding ordinance, Councilman Matt Weikert asked Chamberlin about the hiring, noting, "We don't want to approve this change if we're not hiring an officer."
Chamberlin said an officer would be hired.
Police Chief John Krawchyk has said an additional full-time officer is needed to patrol the rapidly growing community. With the current staffing, vacations and sick leave often make scheduling difficult, he said.
Below average: Police and dispatchers have said the department is operating below the national average for full-time officers, according to the U.S. Department of Justice's annual report. The village has 11 full-time officers, and the Justice Department has reported the national average at one sworn officer for every 400 residents.
By those standards, the village should have at least 14 officers for a population of 5,000 and 17 for 6,000.
Adding a patrolman would give the department 12 full-time officers and reduce overtime, Krawchyk said. Two full-time officers have been added in the past 10 years.