AUSTINTOWN — A year after residents defeated a levy to support the police department, the township will again ask for their approval with some slight changes.

Austintown Township trustees on Monday unanimously approved a motion to ask Mahoning County Auditor Ralph Meacham to determine the funding that would be generated by a 2.22-mill levy on the November ballot.

In November, voters shot down a 2.4-mill levy that would have generated about $2.6 million for the police department, by a margin of 52% to 48%. Police Chief Valorie Delmont said that, despite the township’s best efforts, the department is on the verge of becoming financially unsustainable.

“I proposed to put this levy back on because, after being in charge of the police department for just the last three months and evaluating where we are financially and our needs, I don’t think that we can wait any longer. Waiting longer is going to put us in a situation that we cannot recover from,” she said. “We’ve promised to maintain the services that you’ve come to expect from us, and at this point those are going to start suffering if we don’t put this levy on and pass it.”

Township Administrator Mark D’Apolito said that unlike last year’s attempt, the new levy would give residents more oversight.

“One year ago, we asked voters to approve a slightly larger, continuous levy. Tonight we’re proposing a 2.22-mill, five-year renewable levy,” he said. “That means voters will get the opportunity to review our operations and our financial condition in five years.”

Since the levy failed, the township has made significant cuts to the department. In addition to the $200,000 they cut before November under retired Chief Robert Gavalier, Delmont has cut at least $75,000 more.

D’Apolito said the personnel costs comprise about 72% of the police department budget.

“That means patrol and personnel power are directly linked to the financial stability of our department,” he said.

Delmont said the department is down from 43 officers in 2023 to 34 now and has not hired a new officer since February of 2023.

“Thirty-four officers makes it very difficult to run a patrol schedule where we have a minimum staffing of five officers,” she said.

A letter from the department’s police union, in support of the levy, notes that the department’s financial picture has made it difficult to hire qualified candidates. She said with the departure of Lt. WIlliam Hoelzel, the department is down to two lieutenants.

“The staffing drop means unpredictable schedules which causes morale, retention and burnout issues among officers,” Delmont said. “Officers’ days off are getting split and their schedules are getting changed to cover all shifts. We have limited overtime, cut expenditures, and limited time off.”

With recent retirements, Delmont said younger officers are now running shifts and the department continues to deal with the same call volume it handled in 2023.

Delmont said Austintown also has cut all training except that which is state-mandated.

“This type of training is important, especially with a young police department like ours, and the officers are not getting good solid training,” she said.

Last month, trustees approved a move to cut the department’s police dog program to save $10,000 this year and $20,000 in 2026. The program is now being supported by donations.

Delmont said the department continues to do everything it can to be fiscally responsible.

“We’ve cut recurrent costs, implemented measures for cutting expenditures and increasing revenue, including applying successfully for grants,” she said.

That includes the COPS grant from the United Department of Justice that provides $750,000 to support six officers’ salaries.

“Even with those measures, we’re not in a situation where we can maintain at this point,” she said. “We’re just not able to wait any longer.”

D’Apolito said the grants help, but they often require matching funds or other commitments.

“It’s impossible to build a police department on the income of a grant cycle. You have to build it on sustainable recurring funding, for which our only choice as a township is a levy,” he said. “Other revenue comes through and that’s helpful and that ultimately saves the taxpayer money in the long run, but we can’t do it without the income of a levy.”

D’Apolito said in April that an advance of between $850,000 to $1 million to the department from the township’s general fund will likely become a full transfer. In January, he stated that the general fund could be left with as little as $875,000 by the end of this year. He said the department required about $670,000 in transfers from the general fund in 2024.

Retirements, which will save the department money in the long run, also took a toll this year in the form of severance payments.

So far this year, the township has had to pay $219,000 in severances to Gavalier, Capt. Tom Collins — who retired at the end of March, and a couple other retirees. That amount does not include Hoelzel’s payout.

When Delmont was promoted, she took a $13,300 severance payment from the leave time she had accrued as a member of the police union’s collective bargaining agreement.

By cashing out the administrative time balance, she will not accrue that time in addition to the time that is due to salaried administrative township employees, like police chiefs.

Last month, Fiscal Officer Laurie Wolfe outlined the township’s first-quarter spending trends, and said each department should be at 33% of its expected revenue and spending.

The general fund has received 39.5% of its expected annual revenue and the township has only spent 13% of that so far. The police department has received 42% and spent about 31%.