AUSTINTOWN — Personnel matters were on the agenda Monday at the regular township trustees meeting.

The evening’s business opened with the swearing-in of five newly promoted police officers.

“We are a very young department,” police Chief Valorie Delmont said. “And the most important thing to have with a young department is strong leadership.”

Delmont said the promotion of two sergeants to lieutenants and three officers to sergeants will give Austintown’s shifts the stability they need to run smoothly and predictably, and eliminate overtime costs that have been plaguing the department.

Trustee Bruce Shepas said the promotions — outlined in the police union’s collective bargaining agreement — are necessary not only to provide leadership and stability, but also to make room for the three to four new police officers the department intends to hire.

Personnel fixes were the first item mentioned after residents in November passed a new 2.22-mill five-year renewable levy to provide $2 million for the police department.

The department’s staffing is down to 31, including the chief, a drop of roughly a dozen officers over the past three to four years — all lost to retirement or better-paying jobs elsewhere.

Those include retired Chief Robert Gavalier, retired Captain Tom Collins, Lt. William Hoelzel, and multiple others over the past year alone.

“This department has been down 25%” Shepas said. “These promotions are not a new expense, it’s actually quite a bit of savings compared to paying all that overtime.”

Delmont also mentioned officer training and upgrading the department’s software as immediate priorities.

She said the timeline for bringing in new officers is about six to eight months. Shepas said the township also intends to hire another dispatcher as soon as possible.

The newly promoted officers are Lieutenants Daniel Burich and FOP president David Yohman, and Sergeants Joshua Watkins, Chance Hanshaw and Anthony Morucci.

Later in the meeting, trustees approved an agreement of retroactivity, which just means the terms of the current CBA will remain in effect until a new agreement is reached at some point in early 2026 and the terms of the new agreement will apply retroactively to Jan. 1, 2026.

Trustees also approved the hiring of two new road department employees who are slated to begin work today, driving salt trucks on the township’s road to counter the incoming storm. Brendan J. Wilson and Jason A. Bird are the new employees, and the cost of hiring them is being paid out of the road department’s allocated budget.

Roads Superintendent and Township Administrator Mark D’Apolito said the passage of the police levy means other township finances are not so stretched and they can cautiously proceed with some of Austintown’s other needs now.

“If I wasn’t going to move forward with hiring new police officers because of budget constraints, I also could not move forward with growing the road department either,” he said.

OFFICER-INVOLVED SHOOTING

The department is also down another officer as of Monday, at least temporarily. Delmont said an unnamed officer is on paid leave pending the outcome of an investigation into the shooting of a resident on North Yorkshire Boulevard Sunday night.

A brief news release states the incident occurred about 10:30 p.m. The “armed male” was standing outside a residence making “suicidal and homicidal threats” and eventually he fired multiple shots and the officer returned fire, hitting the man. Delmont said the victim was in a local hospital in stable condition as of Monday afternoon.

The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation has taken over the inquiry into the incident.