City adds 2 officers to police department
The city hadn't hired police officers for eight years.
By JOHN W. GOODWIN JR.
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
GIRARD -- It has been a long time since Police Chief Frank Bigowsky has seen any new officers raise their hands in a swearing-in ceremony.
His wait came to an end Tuesday.
Stephen Lewis, 39, and Scott Strain, 31, were sworn in as the newest members of the Girard Police Department.
Lewis is a graduate of Boardman High School and attended Youngstown State University. He has worked as a part-time officer for Austintown Police Department and the Mahoning County Sheriff's Department.
Strain is a graduate of Girard High School and Youngstown State University. He worked as a part-time officer with the Newton Falls Police Department before moving to Goose Creek, S.C., for a full-time job with the police department there.
The police department has been down as many as eight officers -- from 24 officers to 16 officers -- since the city entered fiscal emergency in 2001. According to Bigowsky, it had not added any officers since 1999.
Bigowsky, who has repeatedly asked council for additional officers, said he hopes that the two additional officers will be the start to building department manpower.
"I am happy to see the city coming out of fiscal emergency, and we are able to bring people back to work. I hope this is just the beginning. It's been eight long years since any officers were hired," he said.
Mayor James Melfi said the hiring of the new police officers is a sign that the city is coming out of its financial troubles of recent years.
"This is a very important day for our police department," Melfi said. "I want our citizens to know that this is the beginning of our turning the corner and our city getting back on its feet."
Fiscal problems
The state placed the city in fiscal emergency in 2001 when it had a general fund deficit of about 2.4 million. The general fund deficit was reduced to 941,000 at the start of 2006, according to city Auditor Sam Zirafi.
A change of rules by city officials made hiring one of the new police officers possible.
City council passed an ordinance earlier this month exempting the city from the upper age limit for an original appointee to a police department as spelled out in Ohio law.
State law sets age 35 as the cutoff for new appointees to a police department.
Safety Service Director Jerry Lambert has said city leaders decided to opt out of the upper age limit requirement because there were qualified individuals above that age on the list of police candidates being considered by the civil service commission.
Melfi said not being able to hire Lewis based strictly on his age was unacceptable. He said Lewis and Strain scored first and second on the qualifying exam and were physically fit to do the job, so the city wanted to hire them.
"I have always felt that [rule] was archaic when one's health is taken into consideration. I feel that an older person can bring life experience to the job as a police officer," he said.
jgoodwin@vindy.com