POLAND — Village council is looking at a proposed 2.5-mill levy that would bring in $168,000 annually to help the police department make up for the loss of estate tax and drug seizure funds.

“We held our first reading of the proposed levy at our May 2 meeting,” Mayor Tim Sicafuse said. “On May 16 we will hold our second reading, then we will have the final reading on June 20.”

At the June 20 meeting, council will vote on the levy. If approved, it will appear on the Nov. 7 ballot.

“I hope people will support us,” Sicafuse said. “We are going to be on the same ballot as a huge school levy.”

The police department is funded through property taxes and the general fund because the village has no income tax. The police department does have one 1-mill levy in place that was first approved by voters in 2000. That levy brings in $57,000 per year.

MANY FACTORS

Sicafuse said many factors have brought about the need for additional funds for the village police department.

One factor is a loss of funds stemming from the state’s phase-out of the estate tax, which used to bring in an average of $143,000 a year. That number was derived from statistics from 2006 to 2014. That money is no longer available.

Another loss Sicafuse mentioned is the lack of an officer serving on the Drug Enforcement Agency’s county drug task force.

From 2004 to 2021, the village had an officer serving on that force. When the village assisted in a drug arrest or raid, there was often drug money that was seized, then divided among the arresting agencies. Sicafuse said funds received went toward the purchase of vehicles, the police garage, training, guns, stun guns, ammunition, riot gear, portable radios and other equipment.

“We have purchased four police vehicles since 2016, at a cost of $131,497,” Sicafuse said. “All paid for with seized drug funds.”

The village police department would like to add a DEA officer to the roster.

It also needs a second school resource officer.

The SRO who has been working McKinley Elementary School and the middle school has wages paid by the school district, when they work in them. The village picks up the tab for the benefits and insurance, which is more than $15,000 per officer. Next year the school district has requested a full-time SRO in both McKinley and Poland Middle School. That would mean hiring a second officer.

New officers would not be possible under the current budget.

Another factor requiring new funds is the cost of operations. In 2016 it took $452,592 to operate the department. In 2021, that amount rose to more than $561,000, an increase of roughly 25 percent, and it is still going up.

Police Chief Don Lambert explained, “Two things that continually cost us money are technology and education.”

He said a lot of what the state requires also comes with a price tag. Lambert uses a free state computer system to do the new required reporting, but had to hire an information-technology employee to upgrade the village’s computers to enable that system.

The state also requires recertifications in several areas that involve officer training, which comes from the department’s budget.

TRYING TO SAVE

Lambert said he has been trying to save money wherever he can, but it has become difficult.

He was able to locate 3-year-old body cameras from a department that was upgrading, but those cameras require data storage, and it will take around $6,000 to be able to have that service each year. Lambert said he hopes to get the cameras soon.

Another hit on the budget, according to Lambert, is rising hospitalization insurance costs. Those costs went from $46,430 in 2016 to $80,474 last year.

With limited income, rising prices and the need to grow, the officials said they hope residents will pass the 2.5-mill levy in November. In the meantime, Lambert and Sicafuse said they will keep doing the best they can.

“We’ll continue to do what we can and spend what we have to in keeping people safe,” Lambert said. “We are not looking to have some lavish police department or the most expensive vehicles.”

Right now, the department has five vehicles (the newest being a 2019), seven full-time officers, and two part-time officers.

To prepare for the levy and promote it, a committee was formed. It had its first meeting a few weeks ago. The committee is made up of the mayor, Lambert, fiscal officer Robert Canter Jr., Councilman Sam Moffie and Allison Dunham.

jtwhitehouse@vindy.com