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Police, fire budgets hold line, chiefs say
Police, fire budgets hold line, chiefs say
By SUE REID
The budget presented during hearings last week by Solon Police Chief Christopher P. Viland reflected no current plans to add staffing this year to any division within the police department.
In the Solon Fire Department, staffing levels have stabilized, Fire Chief William J. Shaw said.
"Total manpower for all divisions will remain at current full-time levels," Mr. Viland said, including 46 sworn law-enforcement officers among the department's 107 total employees.
The only caveat to that is that, if operations in the jail division change significantly, manpower will need to be addressed at that time, he said. The Solon Jail currently employs 14 correction officers.
Mr. Viland said the staff at the jail has been working under mandatory overtime conditions through 2011. It's the only division of the police department where that has become necessary, he said.
As a result, morale is being affected, he said. "You have people who sign on for an eight-hour day, and they are being forced to work a 12-hour day," he said. "Over a period of time, that wears on people. I don't want to burn my people out," he said.
"As 2012 progresses, this situation will be additionally studied," Mr. Viland said.
The jail worked through a year of uncertainty in 2011, he said, but the daily prisoner population continues to rise, and he continues working to secure contracts with other communities for its use. The most recent contract involves the city of Twinsburg.
Regarding overall department staffing, heading into 2012, "we're looking at significant patrol vacancies" which is a carryover of retirements that have not yet been filled, Mr. Viland said. One officer is being sent to the Mideast for a year in the military, one is on extended injury leave, and some with planned surgeries are affecting manpower, he said.
"These vacancies won't have a severe impact on our operations," he said. It also will not be a significant impact on the total budget of about $7.8 million requested for this year, but there will be requests for overtime, he said.
Mr. Viland noted that he eliminated the assistant chief position and moved lieutenants into administrative roles. "That has been working out well administratively," he said.
He said his budget is driven by personnel costs.
Mr. Shaw said the fire department has reached a plateau on "where we need to be."
He presented a budget of about $6.36 million for his 58-member department.
Capital requests are minimal and include radio equipment, the replacement of a staff vehicle and a command vehicle at a total of about $120,000, Mr. Shaw said.
The replacement of a ladder truck at slightly over $1 million should be on the city's "radar" in 2015, he said. "That's today's prices. In three years, that price would definitely be more," he said.
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