Hamilton County Sheriff's Office budget cuts means shifts in service in western townships

WHITEWATER TOWNSHIP, Ohio (WKRC) - Budget cuts are apparently on the way at the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office.

Some deputies are being transferred to lower paying jobs as the sheriff deals with less money from the county commission. At this point, only six deputies are being shifted from road patrol or court services to being corrections officers where paychecks are smaller.

And while six people being moved isn't a lot, more changes are possible. This is all in the context of trying to preserve road patrols in part of the county.

Whitewater Township is one of Hamilton County's smallest townships.

"Everybody out here realizes we don't have a lot of resources, so they make do with what they have," said Jim Brett, Whitewater Township's fiscal officer.

Whitewater and the two other western townships, Crosby and Harrison, make up less than 1 percent of Hamilton County's population. The sheriff's office patrols out there, among other townships.

But unlike those other townships, the sheriff provides extra routine, dedicated patrol cars in the west at no charge. When the county commissioners cut the Sheriff's Office's budget by nearly $6 million for 2019, the sheriff had projected those three dedicated patrol cars would end. The department would only respond to emergencies.

But the sheriff has changed that. There will be cars stationed somewhere in the western townships, although it may not be as many nor in the same places.

"The sheriff's office told us we would see the service maintained," said Brett.

If you live in one of the larger townships: Symmes, Sycamore, Anderson or places like that, you pay for additional services. In the smaller western townships, they do not. So if you live elsewhere, you are subsidizing sheriff's patrols in the western parts of the county, and you may be wondering if that's really fair.

"I don't think you can blame them for saying that. We appreciate what services we get from Hamilton County...We're just not developed enough to do that. Hopefully, we'll see some development in the future," Brett said.

But to provide the western township cars, the sheriff has to save money other ways, like transferring staffers to lower paying jobs in the jail. Long-term, the western townships might have to pay for additional services.

"If we're going to spend money here, then we have to take it from Paul to pay Peter. So, we don't have a lot of discretionary spending. We don't want to make cuts to things that people are used to, but sometimes you have to," said Brett.

The sheriff has had a hiring freeze since the summer, but, by law, the sheriff also has to run the jail. So by transferring people from road patrol, you don't have to hire new corrections officers and you save money.

But with fewer deputies on the road, those slots have to be covered by supervisors or by traffic officers who could respond to an emergency.

The job transfers have nothing to do with job performance. Rather, the six deputies have all been on the job less than a year, so it's easier to transfer them under the union contract.

[fredrico]

Fuck giving them more money. U see the cars and SUV they be driving? 2015 SUV is around 80k per. I'm tired of them making up shit to get more money from us. Why don't u stop getting sued. Oops that's our money too.