Township set to hire officers

By Denise Dick

Revenue from the levy is expected to begin trickling into township coffers next month.

BOARDMAN — It will likely be April when new police officers join the township ranks.

“We’re starting to schedule the computer voice stress analyzer tests,” which are supposed to show if the job applicants are truthful, said police Chief Patrick Berarducci.

Last November, township voters passed a five-year, 2.2-mill safety services levy that’s expected to generate $2,078,924 annually. That cleared the way for the township to hire up to 10 police officers and to recall six of its nine laid-off firefighters.

“We’ll hopefully have people starting in April or May at the latest,” Berarducci said.

Nineteen prospective police officers have been interviewed in initial sessions with two of the department’s sergeants. Those same 19 prospects will undergo voice stress analyzer tests, the chief said.

“We have a team of officers out there doing police checks with police departments where [those on the list] live, have worked or gone to school,” Berarducci said.

After completion of those checks and voice stress tests, narrowing of the list will begin, and the chief will conduct interviews with a captain and lieutenant. Interviews with trustees will follow, and candidates also must undergo formal background checks before being hired.

Jason Loree, township administrator, said revenue from the safety services levy should begin coming into township coffers next month.

The township’s fiscal office is developing revenue projections for this year. If those projections are lower than expected because of economic conditions, officials will have to revisit plans for a hiring timetable.

“Everything right now is going as planned for April,” Loree said.

Both he and Berarducci say they hope to phase in the new officers, three at a time.

“That will allow us to have one per shift,” Berarducci said. “We want to stagger them.”

Though sworn police officers escaped the layoff ax during the height of the township’s 2008 financial crisis, 13 officers who have left the department either through retirement or attrition since 2006 haven’t been replaced, taking the number of officers to 48 including the chief.

denise_dick@vindy.com