By Kristin Rover
Sun staff
Amelia Village Council members approved the hiring of a new part-time police officer during their May 28 council meeting.
“I would like to start the process for getting another part-timer,” Mayor Todd Hart said during the meeting.
Hart made the motion begin the hiring process and council members approved the recommendation.
Hart said they had talked about hiring another part-time officer earlier in the year when they replaced two part-time officers and hired a full-time officer.
“We are a little short staffed right now,” Hart said. “We’ve worked hard to get the budget where it is at. We are doing pretty good.”
Hart said they are trying to get a little closer to where they used to be with police staff in the village while still being mindful about spending.
He said adding another part-time officer will help with coverage in the village.
Amelia Police Chief David Friend said they definitely need another part-time officer, and he said they need another full-time officer eventually.
“We are just trying to get up to par,” Friend said.
Friend said adding the officer will help in several ways, including reducing the amount of time the other officers are working overtime.
“It will be a load off the part timers now,” Friend said.
Friend said he would really like to hire another full-time officer later in the year.
“We can start doing two man duty if we have enough,” Friend said.
He said two man duty makes it safer for the officers so that they are not working as many hours in a row.
The village has replaced several part-time officers who resigned and added a full-time officer earlier this year. Most recently, the village swore in two replacement part-time officers in February and swore in a full-time officer at the end of January.
For more information about the Amelia Police Department, visit www.ameliavillage.com.