7/18/2012 - West Side Leader
     

DOWNTOWN AKRON — Akron officials announced the city will hire more police officers, thanks in part to a $1.5 million, three-year grant from the COPS Hiring Program administered through the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services.

In order to facilitate that effort, Akron City Council approved legislation at the July 16 meeting that accepts the grant awarded to Akron several weeks ago.

According to the legislation, the grant is to be used to hire about 12 military veterans who were on active duty on or after Sept. 11, 2001, to be trained as law enforcement officers to increase the number of police on the streets and improve crime-prevention efforts. The grant will cover 75 percent of the approved entry-level salary and benefits, and the city will be required to kick in a 25 percent match, which will cost $1.6 million during the three-year period. In addition, the city will be required to retain the officers for one additional year after the funding expires.

Mayor Don Plusquellic said at the Council meeting that due to Civil Service Commission rules, the city will test about 42 candidates for the positions and possibly hire more officers.

Plusquellic said the effort will begin with the selection of a body to administer the civil service test to applicants, and he said he has asked police union officials if they want to participate in selecting those experts.

“We struggle to ensure the [police] department reflects the community at large,” said Plusquellic. “We hope to find the best applicants we can.”

City officials expect it will take one to two years before these new officers are on the streets.

In other Public Safety Committee business, Akron City Council approved two applications for funding from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

One application, for almost $2.2 million, seeks to upgrade the city/county regional radio system. The grant requires a 20 percent local match, or $218,750 each from Akron and Summit County, according to Public Safety Committee Chairman Mike Freeman (D-Ward 9).

Akron Fire Department Chief Robert Ross told Council the current system, shared by the city and the Summit County Sheriff’s Office, is getting old and will not be supported after 2018. He said the application is being filed with 21 of the 26 fire departments in Summit County, and he believes that combined effort increases the likelihood of success in winning the grant

“This grant would help us take the first step by ensuring a smooth transition to a new system,” said Ross.

The upgrades would continue the interoperability of the system between the state of Ohio and various federal agencies, especially in a time of disaster, added Ross.

Ross also said other improvements to the radio system will have to be made in the future.

Plusquellic said city officials have been working for a number of years with the Summit County Sheriff’s Office and other communities to create a consolidated radio system for the county.

“Due to financial concerns, we are seeing a major effort that is more successful recently,” he added.

The second application is for a $1.2 million grant that requires a local share from the city of Akron of $240,000 to purchase two new fire trucks, 18 cardiac monitors/defibrillators, five sets of hydraulic extrication equipment and highway blocking and safety equipment for the city.

Council also approved the following:

• an agreement with I’ve Got Worms LLC, doing business as Wally Waffle, for the lease of property at 845 W. Market St. in Highland Square. Wally Waffle will move from its current Locust Street location to the new site and add a dinner menu. The eatery is expected to open in about three months; and

• authorization for city officials to enter into a $27,000 contract with Catholic Charities Community Services Corp. for the operation of this year’s summer recreation program for 37 disabled youth.

The next Council meeting will be July 23 at 7 p.m. in Council Chambers on the third floor of the Akron Municipal Building, 166 S. High St. Committee meetings will begin at 2 p.m. in the same location.

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