Chief of police exits for Medina

A captain will run operations until a replacement for Berarducci is found.

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Boardman Police Chief Patrick Berarducci

By Denise Dick

BOARDMAN — Police Chief Patrick Berarducci has accepted the job as Medina’s chief.

He wants to talk to township trustees to work out when he’ll leave, as well as a determining a start date with Medina officials.

Chief since February 2007, he was asked to take the civil service test for the Medina job. That city’s mayor called him Friday, told him he had the highest score on the test and offered him the position, Berarducci said.

“I’m sorry to see the chief go, but he had an opportunity he couldn’t pass up,” said Administrator Jason Loree. “But he’s a friend, too, so I’m happy for him that he has this opportunity.”

Capt. Jack Nichols will oversee the department until a new chief is named, Loree said.

“I’m very disappointed for our community,” said Trustee Kathy Miller. “I think he did a lot of good in the short time that he was here.”

Berarducci also came to the department during the township’s financial problems and dealt with a shortage of police officers. The department is still down in personnel.

“I think he was the right guy at the right time,” Miller said.

Because it’s a civil service job, Berarducci likely will have the Medina job for as long as he wants it. That city’s former chief resigned to run for mayor. The sitting mayor, whose term expires at year’s end, isn’t seeking re-election.

Berarducci’s township contract expires in February, and trustees have said they don’t want contracts with any department heads. When Loree’s contract ran out last November, he wasn’t given a new pact.

Miller has said she supports extending Berarducci’s contract.

“It’s a shame to see him go,” said Larry Moliterno, trustees chairman. “We wanted him to stay.”

He doesn’t believe that extending the chief’s contract would have made a difference, though.

“I think if Chief Berarducci wanted to continue to work in Boardman, he would continue to work in Boardman,” Moliterno said.

Trustee Robyn Gallitto said she’s disappointed to see the chief go.

“He saw an opportunity, and I can’t fault him for taking that,” she said.

As far as extending the chief’s contract, Gallitto said she wants to see all department heads treated the same way regarding contracts. No other department heads have contracts.

“If I was, for some reason, going to look at the police department differently, I would hope that he would renegotiate his contract,” she said.

She couldn’t support just an extension of the current pact. His contract, based on the wages of police ranking officers, called for salary increases each year.

“The other department heads have had pay freezes,” Gallitto said.

Berarducci, a retired U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agent, has retained his house in Medina and rented a condominium here.

He earns about $103,709 annually in the township. The Medina job pays between $71,988 and $91,894 annually, according to an advertisement for the position. That city also pays the chief’s contribution to the Ohio Police and Fire Pension Fund, which amounts to about 10 percent more pay.

The former Medina chief, who served 13 years in the office, earned about $100,000 annually.

denise_dick@vindy.com