Bucyrus City Council hears from citizens on police department budget

By Kimberly Gasuras

The Bucyrus City Council Chambers was packed with individuals and organizations such as the Bucyrus Chapter of the Guardian Angels, BORN and the Positive Seekers that came to show their support for the Bucyrus Police Department as possible budget cuts loom.

Retired Bucyrus Police Chief Ken Teets expressed his concern that history could repeat itself during the regular council meeting Tuesday evening.

“I am a firm believer in the old adage, those that forget history are doomed to live it again,” Teets said of the years the department struggled from 2008 through 2013.

Teets said he had to be creative with funding for multiple years while he was the chief just to get by when budget constraints only provided for two officers per shift.

“We saw double digit increases in thefts, violent offenses and drug offenses,” Teets said. “Do not be short-sighted in your funding reviews or short-change the citizens. Long-term it will cause these double-digit increases to return.”

Teets said there is a direct connection between proactive and reactive police work and with the proper resources the department can continue to be proactive in combatting crime in the city.

Police Lieutenant Tom Walker read a letter from the Bucyrus Fraternal Order of Police, Inc. Lodge 68.

“In August of 2017, Mayor Reser released a letter outlining his administration’s desire to transfer emergency medical services to the Bucyrus Fire Department. Shortly after the release of that letter, members of Lodge 68 met with Reser and safety service director Jeff Wagner to express concerns over funding this endeavor,” Walker read from the letter. “Specifically, our membership detailed the extensive and unnecessary gamble with tax-payer dollars and, in the process, creating gaps in police services.”

Walker said that Reser assured them that no funding would be taken from the police department.

As of Feb. 25, the department is down three officers due to retirement and resignations and none have been replaced.

“From 2017 to 2018, the police department funding was slashed a minimum of $275,000, leaving the department financially incapable of recovering from and sustaining the loss of officers and services created by these cuts.”

Walker said that local media sources have spotlighted the community’s drastic crime reduction of as much as 60 percent in some areas, indicating Crawford County has risen from one of the most heavily-impacted by heroin to one of the best in the state.

Joe Graham of the Positive Seekers was at the council meeting for Safety Forces Appreciation Month but spoke as a private citizen in regards to proposed cuts to the police department.

He said that he has helped many people in recovery from drug addiction and that budget cuts could mean a loss in services.

“I have buried more people than could fill these seats and the reason is because they could not get access to services,” Graham said. “We have come together as a community and done something really amazing here but this is not the time to pat ourselves on the back and say good job, it’s done, because it’s not done. People are still dying.”

An emotional Lisa Whited, whose son participates in the Bucyrus Police Explorers organization, said budget cuts could cancel the program.

“I have a 15-year-old that is part of the Police Explorer program, a great program for teens,” Whited said. “If you cut the budget, that is one of the programs that could be cut. We need positive programs for our young people.”

Robin Michael, who leads the Guardian Angels in Bucyrus, said her group is the eyes and ears of the police department but are not prepared or trained to act as police officers.

“If you cut the funding for our police department and our detectives, word will get out and the drug dealers will be back because there will be no one to stop them,” Michael said.

Bucyrus resident James Taylor said funding for the city comes from the tax payers.

“We passed a levy for this. We gave our word to help these officers out. It is our money, use some common sense,” Taylor said.

Mayor Jeff Reser said elected officials are responsible and only have so many tax dollars to use.

“We had an 11-percent tax decrease last year. I am sure you all didn’t know that,” Reser said. “That was a substantial drop and in addition to that, back in the year 2010, we were getting over a million dollars from funds from real estate tax, personal property tax, county sales tax, inheritance tax and local government state tax. In 2017, we got $584,000.”

Reser said the police department’s budget is $2.5 million per year and the safety levy that was passed by voters brings in around $1.5 million each year.

“We have seen a large poverty increase in the city, from nine percent to 16 percent,” Reser said.

He said the city had a $354,000 deficit last year.

“We have to balance the budget. Fortunately, we had a carry-over from a few years that has gotten us through,” Reser said.

Reser said the city already has a two-percent tax and will not go back to the voters for more money.

“We have to make do with what we have,” Reser said. “The good news is that January and February had a small increase.”

Reser said the city has always put safety forces first.

“Last year, we spent, between police and civilian with civilian being dispatchers, $2.562 million but we put in the budget $2.512 million, a $50,000 decrease,” Reser said.

Reser said the cost per officer to tax payers is approximately $100,000 per year which includes wages and benefits.

“We have basically cut half an officer and are praying for increased tax revenue this year. We are trying to make this budget work so we can add an officer. We have no intention of gutting the police department,” Reser said.

In other council business, Crestline Road resident Leslie Johnson spoke to council and presented a letter from several of her neighbors that are interested in receiving city water services.

Council president, Sis Love, told Johnson to make sure Reser receives a copy of the letter.

Reser said that plans for extending city water services to rural residents are underway, but he is not sure which area will be first on the list.

Council passed legislation which includes the board of zoning appeals appointment of William Stuckert and traffic control map changes.

The joint session of council committees will be at 6 p.m., Thursday and the next council meeting is March 20 at 7 p.m.