Lake Twp.: SRO contract to be on agenda

By: 
Larry Limpf

The Lake Township trustees are expected to approve a contract Tuesday with Lake schools that will have the school system pay $36,000 to partially fund the School Resource Officer position.
Police chief Mark Hummer said he will have the contract on the agenda of the trustees meeting for their consideration.
“I have been in discussion for several months regarding funding for the SRO position. The school board has always been supportive of the program, and we thank them for their financial contribution to keep the SRO program in place,” the chief said last week.
He said $36,000 will cover roughly half of the officer’s salary and benefits.
Jeff Carpenter, treasurer of Lake schools, said the school board approved the agreement during its January meeting and the first payment to the township is due March 1.
The trustees in October approved hiring Robert Roe, a retired 31-year veteran of the Sylvania Police Division and a School Resource Officer at Sylvania Southview High School, as SRO for Lake schools.
A resident of Lake Township, Roe replaced Steve Poiry, who retired from the Lake Township department as its SRO in September.
A joint funding of the position is one of the goals chief Hummer set for his department this year as operating costs have increased while revenues from the property tax levies that pay for departmental expenses have remained flat.
At their last meeting, the trustees approved a transfer of $200,000 from the general fund to the police fund for 2020.
This year, the department budget is about $1.6 million. Three levies dedicated to fund the department collect a total of 8.3 mills and bring in about $1.3 million annually.
Chief Hummer said he’s been conferring with Vicki Schwamberger, the township fiscal officer, about the department’s finances and what options are available, including placing a levy on the ballot this year.
Last year, the trustees temporarily advanced $100,000 from the general fund to the department, Schwamberger, said, adding the advance to the department was refunded to the general fund but the transfer this year is permanent.

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