POLICE AND FIREFIGHTERS Trustees call 9 back to their jobs

One of the officers said he knows he could be laid off again in the future.
& lt;a href=mailto:hill@vindy.com & gt;By IAN HILL & lt;/a & gt;
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
AUSTINTOWN -- Police Patrol Officer Shawn Hevener is looking forward to returning to duty after being laid off for about a year.
"I'm very happy. I've been waiting 13 months to go back to work," Hevener said. "I don't know what shift I'm working. At this point, I don't care."
Township trustees voted to bring back Hevener and Patrol Officer Robert Whited, as well as seven part-time firefighters, after a closed-door executive session meeting Monday. They laid off the officers and firefighters last year out of concern that the township was facing a deficit. Police Lt. Mark Durkin said Hevener and Whited would be placed on the police schedule in the next few days.
Even with Hevener and Whited back on duty, the department will have fewer officers than it did two years ago because, in an effort to save money, trustees last year voted not to replace three officers who retired. In addition, two other officers are on long-term disability.
Township Clerk Michael Kurish said the township has the money to bring back Hevener, Whited and the firefighters in part because Police Chief Gordon Ellis has been deployed to Eastern Europe with the Ohio Army National Guard. The township will not have to pay Ellis his $68,000 salary while he is deployed, and trustees do not expect to hire an officer to replace him.
What's expected
Money to pay the police and firefighters also is coming from drug seizures and a $40,000 grant from the Mahoning County Drug Task Force, Kurish said.
He added that even though trustees have the money to rehire the police officers and firefighters this year, the township is still facing an uncertain financial future.
Kurish has predicted that the township will have a $300,000 carry-over at the end of this year, in part because a few large construction projects are expected to lead to a record year for zoning permit fees. And the township also is expected to benefit from Mahoning County's efforts to collect unpaid taxes.
But unless the township receives additional revenue next year, it could face a deficit, Kurish has said.
Trustee David Ditzler added that he's concerned trustees are trying to spend every dime in the budget this year, instead of waiting to determine if the zoning permit fees and unpaid tax collections live up to expectations. He said trustees had a heated discussion in executive session Monday about spending the money to bring back the police officers and part-time firefighters.
"It will only take one glitch in the whole equation for us to be thrown back into a negative situation," Ditzler said.
Other details
He also noted that trustees are still negotiating contracts with unions for the part-time firefighters, road department and township secretaries that could cost the township more money this year.
Hevener said he understands that he could be laid off again because of the township's financial problems.
"I honestly don't see myself being on the road 10 to 12 months from now," he said. "It's one of those things I know; it's not going to last forever."
On Monday, trustees also voted to promote Bob Schaffer from detective sergeant to lieutenant, and Aaron Svabik from dispatcher to dispatch supervisor.
Schaffer will be responsible for overseeing the detective unit, a duty Lt. Joe Giampietro had until he retired last year.
Svabik will take on some of the responsibilities of Carol Fry, who served as chief dispatcher until she retired last year.
& lt;a href=mailto:hill@vindy.com & gt;hill@vindy.com & lt;/a & gt;