Fund the police
A lack of local law enforcement continues to be an issue for the villages of Dorchester and Curtiss. Just last week, elected officials in those two communities passed ordinances that are unlikely to be enforced without a cop on the beat.
At its Aug. 3 monthly meeting, the village board in Curtiss voted to ban the noisy and annoying practice of jake braking within village limits. The ordinance adopted by the board provides for fines ranging from $100 to $1,000 per offense, but without a local police officer there to write tickets, there’s virtually no way that any truck driver will ever be forced to pay a citation.
Likewise, in the village of Dorchester, the board passed a motion to prohibit parking on the northernmost blocks of North Fourth Street. It was a smart move, motivated by legitimate safety concerns for residents in that area who have a hard time navigating the congested roadway. However, without a police officer there to slide tickets under the wiper blades of illegally parked cars, the parking prohibition won’t carry much weight.
Both communities plan on putting up signs announcing the new rules, hoping that motorists will obey what is written. This will likely keep a signifi cant number of decent citizens from defying the will of local authorities, but it still leaves open a gaping hole for scofflaws who know they can get away with violating ordinances if there is no one around to enforce them.
These two traffic ordinances are just a couple of the ones that officials in Dorchester and Curtiss have struggled with recently. Besides parking problems on Fourth Street, Dorchester’s board members also discussed the ongoing problem of people shooting off fireworks late into the night. The village has a nine-page ordinance that meticulously spells out all the restrictions on fireworks. The rules are backed up by state statute, so a county deputy can enforce them, but that’s only if they happen to be in the right place at the right time.
The bottom line is that Dorchester and Curtiss both need regular police protection, something beyond what Clark County deputies can provide on an emergency basis. They need an officer who can be there not just during the wild Friday nights — with drunk drivers and late-night domestic disputes — but who is also available on a Monday morning to write parking tickets.
Of course, this is much easier said than done. Municipalities operate on razor-thin margins. Every tax dollar is spoken for, whether it’s for road repairs or fire protection. Still, we believe Curtiss and Dorchester have the capacity to hire at least part-time police protection through the Clark County Sheriff’s Department.
The recent offer made by Sheriff Scott Haines and chief deputy Jim Hirsch has promise. The total cost of hiring a new deputy — estimated to be as high as $178,000 — is daunting, but there are ways the two communities could make the funding work. Dorchester, as the larger of the two villages, would logically take on the lion’s share of the financial burden. Based on an 80 percent share of the cost, Dorchester would owe about $142,000 upfront, which is about $26,000 more than what it paid for its own police department in the past. Perhaps if it sold its squad vehicle and other police equipment, it could afford to make up that gap.
Curtiss, on the other hand, may find it harder to come up with extra cash in its ultra-tight budget, but more tax revenue is on its way once the new Abbyland Foods apartment buildings are added to the tax roll. The first apartment building should generate revenue for 2022, which is when the village would need to pay its 20 percent share (roughly $36,000) for the shared deputy.
After the initial costs for a deputy are covered, the annual expenses drop significantly. Dorchester would owe $95,000 per year and Curtiss would pay $24,000. With the right allocation of tax dollars, the two villages should be able to provide their citizens with much-needed law enforcement.
The Tribune-Phonograph editorial board consists of publisher Kris O’Leary and editor Kevin O’Brien
