Falls police face funding cutback

Staff report

NEWTON FALLS

Police Chief John Kuivila has posted a letter on the police department’s Facebook page, saying he learned at a budget hearing Monday that the department will suffer a $150,000 budget cut in 2012.

A cut of $150,000 to a budget of $1 million will mean that road patrols would be eliminated in 2011, and officers would only respond to crimes in progress or calls that threaten physical harm or injury to property or person, Kuivila wrote.

The cut would mean putting all part-time officers on layoff, with seven full-time officers remaining. Kuivila said only one officer would work each shift.

“This will be virtually impossible and extremely dangerous,” Kuivila wrote. “Needless to say my hopes are that Council will pull together and find a way to resolve this matter.”

Councilman Jim Luonuansuu said Monday he found the chief’s letter to be premature, irrational and childish.

“We don’t know what the cuts will be,” Luonuansuu said, adding the meeting Monday didn’t include village council members, only the city manager and finance director.

Another city council member, Nancy Hoffman, however, said it’s been discussed for quite a while now that the village is facing a large budget deficit for 2012 and that cuts of this type are a possibility.

If $150,000 is cut from the police department budget, the types of cutbacks Kuivila mentioned are a real possibility, she said.

“We are in trouble, I agree,” Hoffman said, “but we cannot give up on the police department.”