Guaranteed response time during the school day is the impetus for an additional levy to support the Washington Township Police Department.
A motorist on State Route 366 near the Indian Lake spillway drives past signage Wednesday in support of an additional Washington Township Police levy. (EXAMINER PHOTO | NATE SMITH)
Voters will decide Tuesday whether or not to support a 1-mill replacement levy with a 1-mill increase for Washington Township Police that would guarantee an officer is on patrol between 7:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. during the week, Chief Rick Core said.
“We have an extremely dedicated bunch of officers in this department that appreciates the opportunity to serve this community,” the police chief said. “One of the biggest needs for this levy is to ensure minimal response time to (Indian Lake Schools) during those school hours in the event of a major incident at the school.”
In all, the levy would generate $174,000 to support the police department, according to information in the Aug. 9 Examiner.
The levy would cost $48.33 per year for a property valued at $100,000, Chief Core said. That breaks down to less than 14 cents per day, the police chief points out.
“That’s a relatively small investment to make sure there’s that silver cruiser on patrol in your area,” he said. “We’ve survived on the same budget now for 25 years now, and this levy comes down to making sure we keep the department going, and that there’s an officer suited up and ready to go and to answer any call for service.”
Indian Lake is the only school district in Logan County without a dedicated school resource officer in the building every day. While this levy is not explicitly for the purpose of dedicating an officer full-time to the Indian Lake campus, it would allow for improved response time in the event of an emergency.
Washington Township police employs five part-time officers, in addition to its chief, and additional levy funds give the department the resources necessary to be on patrol during school and business hours — to patrol the area around the school and the vicinity when residents are at work, and homes tend to be vacant.
“We are a high-functioning, community-oriented department and passing this levy makes would make it easier to deploy our resources based on whatever the needs are,” Chief Core said.
Read complete story in Thursday’s Examiner.
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