Girard mayor wants Liberty to share officer

Police see a possible jurisdictional problem in sharing a school officer.
& lt;a href=mailto:yovich@vindy.com & gt;By TIM YOVICH & lt;/a & gt;
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
GIRARD -- Mayor James J. Melfi is asking Liberty to share its school resource officer, a proposal that has snags.
"It's my suggestion we take a look at it," Melfi said Friday.
Because of layoffs, Girard police have not had an officer assigned to the schools for about three years. Liberty has a full-time officer assigned to the schools.
Under Melfi's proposal, the city of Girard and the school district would each pay 25 percent of the cost. Liberty would pay 50 percent.
Melfi said he has talked about the idea with Liberty Administrator Patrick J. Ungaro.
"It's a move in the right direction," Ungaro said, calling attention to a proposal by trustees to merge some police functions with Girard to save money.
In late March, a four-person committee was formed to look at the possibility of combining Girard and Liberty's emergency dispatching centers.
"The idea is to provide service and safety to the people," Melfi said.
"We'll sit down and talk with anybody to make things better," said Girard schools Superintendent Marty Santillo. "We'll see what's workable and what's not."
Questions raised
Girard police Detective John Norman, a representative of the Ohio Patrolmen's Benevolent Association, and Patrol Officer Daniel Rau, president of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 52, have raised concerns.
Norman said police have a question about possible jurisdictional problems with a Liberty police officer's entering the city on a routine basis.
Liberty Police Chief Anthony Slifka also sees difficulties.
"It sounds simple, but it isn't," Slifka said.
Liberty is in the second year of a three-year grant with the township and schools for patrol officer Alexandra Anastis to work in the schools.
This year, the federal government is paying $43,750, with the township and school district splitting the local share, or $12,000. Next year, the local share increases to $28,000.
Because the grant is for the school district, it would have to be amended if Girard were brought into the mix, the chief explained.
Slifka, too, pointed to a foreseeable problem with jurisdiction.
Full-time job
A resource officer is a full-time job, Slifka asserted, noting that Anastis works with a variety of safety issues, listens to students' personal problems and works with the juvenile officer and building principals.
"I wouldn't want to lose any of her time," said Liberty schools Superintendent Larry Prince. "Her presence is important to us."
Because the Liberty schools are in a campus setting, the officer can be called to a building in a matter of minutes, Prince added.
& lt;a href=mailto:yovich@vindy.com & gt;yovich@vindy.com & lt;/a & gt;