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Posted: 04/25/12

Village could negotiate to
get police expenses lower

by CHRIS GRAY
Observer Staff Writer

      Negotiations with the Romeo Police Department are currently under consideration to reel in the department's expenses.
       Village officials, though, are saying it may be pre-mature to be concerned with the budget since there are still three months to go before the fiscal year ends.
       Police Chief Greg Paduch said the department is about 2 percent over its $1.03 million budget. He said the majority has come from overtime payments, most of which stem from officers having to make court appearances for appointments like preliminary exams and hearings.
       He said these expenses have combined with other issues like repairing police cruisers, computer maintenance and the rising price of gas to hit the 2011-12 budget.
       "It's a combination of a few things," Paduch said. "When you make a budget, you're projecting what you need and things pop up unexpectedly."
       Village Clerk Marian McLaughlin said the village is going to take a look at changing the current language of the union agreement as a way of saving some money. During the April 16 meeting of the Village Council, she said the village will look at the issue of officers that go to court being guaranteed three hours of pay.
       She declined to put an exact number to the expenditures over revenue since the village will not finish out its budget year until July. She said, though, that the department's budget ultimately balances out in the long run since every ticket that generates revenue means officers have to be in court.
       Paduch said he doesn't expect the budget difficulties to affect the proposal of renovating the former WBRW Channel 6 station on Morton Street into the new police headquarters. The estimates for the project were at $121,800 as of late March.
       "There is a budget hearing on April 30 where we'll discuss next year's budget along with the proposed finalized numbers for the building renovations," he said.