Switching to the sheriff
Saint Paris is not the only small town struggling with the cost and consistency of local law enforcement. The solution is to end the struggle and enable the county sheriff to fulfill a community policing plan for the village. Here's how it could work:
Note: I've been promoting this for at least two years. The following is based on my conversations with law enforcement officials in several agencies, including the Champaign County Sheriff's office. Nothing here should be misconstrued as a proposal from the sheriff. We'll hear from him at an upcoming village council meeting
Personnel
The sheriff will appoint a sergeant who will serve as the effective Saint Paris police chief. The sergeant's salary and benefits will be paid by the village and his workday will be centered in Saint Paris. He will execute a community policing plan that includes coordination with the Graham school district for extra policing during bus hours. And perhaps a neighborhood watch. The sergeant will be assisted by a deputy whose salary will also be paid by the village.
The sergeant and deputy will work separate shifts, perhaps 7 am to 3 pm, and 7 pm to 3 am.
Facilities and Equipment
The sergeant and the deputy will use existing St. Paris police cruisers, re-wrapped as sheriff's vehicles. The village will keep a third re-wrapped vehicle for use by part-time deputies who might be hired to police the off-hours. The village will pay for maintenance of the vehicles and the sheriff will pay the insurance.
Here's an additional bonus
The sergeant and deputy will work from the village buildings on Main Street. Which means the center of town will effectively become a western Champaign County sheriff's substation. A place for deputies to take breaks, use the internet and file reports. Which means we'll have law enforcement in or near the village at all hours!
Savings
Preliminary estimates show that we'll save $180,000 in the first year. ($490,000 requested by the current police supervisor vs. $320,000 for the sheriff's plan.)
Let's be fair and say we probably left something out. So call it $160,000 in savings. Still substantial.
Imagine what we can do with $160,000! My own idea is to use this money to "leverage" another several hundred thousand dollars of state and federal money for infrastructure repair.
Q & A
Is this proposal triggered by recent events?
Yes. The current reality of village finances. We need to cut $185k from requested appropriations and put more money into infrastructure maintenance. We cannot afford to spend half of our general fund on police.
What if this doesn't work out. Won't it be hard to reconstitute a village police force?
It would be easy. We'll still own the cars, the facilities and the equipment. All we'll need is an experienced (perhaps retired) part-time officer to serve as the village marshall, who can hire and then supervise a couple of full-timers and two or three part-time officers.
Don't we lose coverage under this plan? Fewer hours with cops on the street.
During the first half of 2023 we averaged about 88 hours of coverage per week. (Haven't yet pulled the timesheets for the second half of last year.) Two deputies working separate shifts gives us 80 hours. Then there's the additional presence that comes with the substation. The sheriff already is handling a substantial percentage of calls. According to county figures, from January to November of last year the sheriff was dispatched on 31 percent of calls originating from Saint Paris (195 of 624).