HAMILTON COUNTY, Ohio — Hamilton County Sheriff Charmaine McGuffey just lately introduced her workplace will now not present patrols for Crosby, Harrison, and Whitewater townships after the townships and the sheriff’s workplace could not comply with a contract for providers.
This isn’t a brand new challenge, nevertheless. The WCPO 9 I-Staff reported on it again in 2022, when the sheriff requested the three west aspect townships for at the least $1 million for normal patrols.
However now, the townships and the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Workplace (HCSO) have hit a stalemate.
“It has been happening for a number of years,” Harrison Township Trustee Tom Losekamp stated.
Throughout a 2022 Hamilton County Commissioners assembly, McGuffey stated that each one different unincorporated townships within the county paid for providers.
“There are good women and men who reside in these three townships that get pleasure from our police company, and we’re merely asking them to step up and pay a fair proportion,” McGuffey stated throughout that 2022 assembly.
Hear extra about how this resolution may impression the three western townships within the video beneath:
Hamilton County Sheriff’s Workplace stops all patrolling in 3 close by townships
We sat down with Losekamp to debate the problems with the contract. He stated the principle challenge is that their group cannot pay the quantity the sheriff is asking.
“Properly, proper now it is in all probability not a lot the primary two years, possibly three years, we are able to afford that, however after that, that is the place the holdup is available in,” Losekamp stated.
The present proposed contract would price Harrison Township about $41,000 in 2025, in response to Losekamp. He additionally stated that price ticket would progressively enhance over time.
He stated his worries come from whether or not the township may afford future prices. Losekamp stated to afford that, the practically 4,500 householders within the township will seemingly need to pay. However he stated that is simpler stated than performed.
“The final time we tried a levy was 2008, and that failed,” Losekamp stated.
Losekamp stated it is unclear how a lot paying for sheriff’s workplace providers may price down the highway, which has led to contract disputes.
That prompted the sheriff to ship a letter again in March notifying Harrison Township that the sheriff’s workplace will now not provide patrol providers within the space.
“I type of figured one thing like that may occur,” Losekamp stated.
46807837-Sheriff’s Letter 3-4-25 by webeditors on Scribd
Losekamp stated the headlines of shedding patrols are worse than the fact of all of it.
He stated the township did not ask for patrols within the first place and added that sheriff’s deputies will nonetheless reply to requires emergencies. He stated he did not anticipate it including vital response occasions for these calls.
I requested Losekamp if he feels the sheriff is stopping patrols as a tactic to make use of public stress to get township trustees to signal a contract.
“Yeah, I believe so,” Losekamp stated.
Whitewater Township Trustee Man Schaible stated he agrees. Whereas the greater than 6,000 residents residing in that township could also be apprehensive by the choice, Schaible stated they should not.
“They get all scared, trigger they suppose ‘oh my gosh, we’re gonna don’t have any police! We will don’t have any police!’ And that is not the case,” Schaible stated.
Like Harrison Township, Schaible stated that Whitewater Township has by no means paid for patrols. He stated the principle challenge, nevertheless, is that in addition they cannot afford to pay for them.
Schaible stated the township already pays the HCSO by means of county taxpayer cash that the sheriff’s workplace receives. Schaible stated they tried to cross a levy to convey extra money to the county to pay HCSO, but it surely failed.
He stated the sheriff needed Whitewater Township to pay $83,000 in 2025, however he stated that is nonetheless simply an estimate. Schaible stated, with the best way the contract is written, that determine may enhance at any time.
“As soon as they get it going, if the fee goes up, we’d be answerable for that price,” Schaible stated.
He stated they need to work with the sheriff’s workplace, but it surely comes all the way down to affordability.
“We simply haven’t got the cash, it isn’t like we do not need to give it to them,” Schaible stated.
WCPO 9 reached out to Crosby Township Trustee Dennis Heyob for remark concerning the story.
He responded, saying that “Crosby Township agreed to the contract some time again.”
We reached out to a spokesperson for HCSO in regards to the resolution. They despatched WCPO 9 the next assertion:
“We’re in ongoing conversations with Harrison, Crosby, and Whitewater Townships concerning an settlement on police providers. We must always have one other replace to the standing of those conversations within the subsequent 2 weeks.”
HCSO Spokesperson Kyla Woods
