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 ask 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 three 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 completed proposal from the sheriff. The budget figures quoted are from last year's collective bargaining agreement, so you can expect those costs to increase.
Personnel
The sheriff would appoint a sergeant who will effectively serve as the Saint Paris police chief. That 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
Had we enacted this plan in 2024, the savings would have been about $70,000. ($330k for the sheriff's plan vs. $400k for the current police budget.) Imagine what we could have done with $70,000! My own idea is to use this money to "leverage" another several hundred thousand dollars of state and federal money for infrastructure repair.
But it's not all about the money. Having consistent, professional local law enforcement is just as important as the savings.
Q & A
Is this because of one person?
No. Actually17 persons. That's how many police resignations we've had since I joined council in January 2022. That's one every 60 days! Can't run an organization with that kind of turnover. Higher pay won't help with retention because larger departments have something that a tiny Saint Paris police squad can never offer: Upward Mobility. Here, you'll always be a patrol officer. It's a seller's market for cops and we cannot compete.
Is this proposal triggered by recent events?
Yes. The current reality of village finances. 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.
From January 2023 through March 2024 we averaged 94 hours of coverage per week. Twenty three of those hours were overlapping with more than one officer on duty. Two sheriff's deputies working separate shifts would give us 80 hours with no overlap. 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 2023 to Sept 8 of this year the sheriff was dispatched on 29 percent of calls originating from Saint Paris (681 of 2338).