During their meeting on July 5, 2016, the Goshen Township trustees approved a resolution to put a five-year 3.4 mill police levy on this November’s presidential election ballot. Pictured, from left, are trustees Lois Pappas Swift, Lisa Allen and Bob Hausermann.
During their meeting on July 5, 2016, the Goshen Township trustees approved a resolution to put a five-year 3.4 mill police levy on this November’s presidential election ballot. Pictured, from left, are trustees Lois Pappas Swift, Lisa Allen and Bob Hausermann.

By Megan Alley
Sun staff

 

This November, voters in Goshen Township will decide whether or not to approve a five-year 3.4 mill police levy.

The trustees approved the resolution to put the levy on the presidential ballot during their meeting on July 5; trustees Lisa Allen and Bob Hausermann voted ‘yes’ while trustee Lois Pappas Swift abstained.

The levy, which will cost the owner of a $100,000 home $9.92 per month, is expected to generate $870,151 a year for the department.

Chief Bob Rose plans to use the money to put “more boots on the street.”

Currently, the department has eight officers, including a school resource officer.

If the levy passes, Rose plans to hire three additional full-time road patrol officers and a detective, which are positions that have been vacant since 2011 due to “inadequate funding.” He also plans to add two other full-time officers to the roster.

With a staff of 14, the department will be able to provide two-officer coverage 24 hours a day, seven days a week; a third officer will be added eight to 12 hours each day, according to Rose.

“This levy is going to substantially increase our ability to effectively target ‘hotspots,’ address community concerns and proactively patrol neighborhoods to reduce crime and the fear of crime,” he said. “In addition, it will help protect my officers; one officer on duty in a town as large as Goshen, with approximately 6,000 residents and 34 square miles, is unacceptable to me.”

Swift explained that she abstained from the vote because, “There’s money in the safety services fund that would better serve them than having a 3.4 mill levy.”

On May 8, 2014, voters in the township approved a five-year 3.5 mill fire and emergency services levy. The revenue was slated for personnel costs, equipment, repairs and maintenance.

The township could ‘legally’ funnel funds from the existing shared levy to the police department, but according to Allen, “Based on the fact that we budgeted this way for fire with these projects in mind, I don’t think it’s the right thing to now change that, just because of changes that have happened in the police department.”

She added, “We need to address the departments; we focused on the fire department and we got that settled, now we’re focusing on the police department.”