Tuesday, July 04, 2000
Police chief's job may be lost
Maineville officials say money's lacking
By Sheila McLaughlin
The Cincinnati Enquirer
MAINEVILLE — Thirty years ago, Joe Lane was a groundbreaking cop in Warren County.
He was one of the county's first black officers, and even today is the only black chief in Warren County.
Today, he is this village's only remaining police officer. And because of lean times here, village council says, Chief Lane is in jeopardy of losing his job.
Three weeks after council severed nine part-time officers from the department and stripped Chief Lane of his benefits and most of his pay, those actions have tossed this tiny town into turmoil, pitting residents and the chief against council.
Village leaders, however, claim they've run out of money, even though the nine officers are each paid $1 a year.
“They are doing me bad. They are going beyond that,” said Chief Lane, a former Warren County sheriff's deputy who grew up in the village and started its police force 30 years ago.
He thinks some members of council are trying to push him out because of continuing friction over the annual Crossroads Celebration.
Much of the tension, Chief Lane said, comes from his refusal to force officers to work unpaid for the private festival, which does not benefit the village.
He also has weathered criticism over his refusal to issue an alcohol permit for the festival, and his officers' enforcement of the ban.
“The Crossroads is a big, big thing. I just won't do
everything they want,” Chief Lane said.
On June 6, council voted 4-3, with a tie-breaking vote from the mayor, to terminate the nine officers, cut Chief Lane's hours back to 15 a week, and slash the 58-year-old chief's pay to $10 an hour. Council also eliminated the chief's insurance and retirement benefits.
That came five months after council had cut his annual salary by $7,000 to $21,000. Chief Lane said he was forced to pick up part-time work as a carrier for the post office to pay his bills.
Maineville has seen its share of turmoil this year. A popular mayor, John Michael, was forced to resign in January after being sentenced for submitting fraudulent claims to the insurance company where he worked as an agent. He had been re-elected in November, despite his conviction the previous June.
The town also has struggled with growth issues. Surrounding Hamilton Township has started to experience the growth brought by suburban sprawl, but tiny Maineville — population about 1,000 — hasn't brought in many new residents in recent years. That has made generating tax revenues and hiring qualified people for positions in the village more difficult.
Crime isn't much of a problem — domestic violence and drunken driving are the most serious offenses. And people here support the chief; about 150 signed a petition asking council to keep Chief Lane on the job full time.
The issue is expected to come to a head again at a council meeting on July 11.
“For a man to put in 30 years, and all of a sudden to strip him of everything, that's wrong,” said Eileen Fiebig, a resident of Foxchase Way.
“He even gave the first police car to the village. That kind of loyalty you don't find anymore. It just seems so wrong to me.”
But Councilwoman Donna Lambert, who heads the finance committee, said there's nothing personal about the decision to cut back. Missy Miracle, who was recently appointed clerk-treasurer, said the village has enough money to fund the department and pay Chief Lane part time through the end of the year.
“We have no intentions of getting rid of Joe right now. This is not personal. It's strictly a financial situation that we got ourselves into,” Ms. Lambert said.
A 1999 state audit of the village books indicated the 150-year-old community wasn't as well off as some were led to believe, she said.
A succession of four clerk-treasurers since 1997, many of them inexperienced, had left village finances in a mess, Ms. Lambert said.
Council, whose seats are typically filled by appointment because no one runs for office, rarely questioned village finances, even though members were signing checks and are required by state law to view a treasurer's report monthly. When reports weren't published for months, no one raised a concern, she said.
“We didn't understand. Somebody was telling us we had it, and come to find out we didn't have it,” Ms. Lambert said.
Mayor Ethel Whitaker said the police department was the most likely place to start cutting back.
With expenses of about $62,000 a year, it takes 80 percent of the village's budget. Most of that went to Chief Lane's salary and ben efits when he was a full-time officer, she said.
Money for police comes from a levy that generates $19,600 a year, as well as an average of $20,000 annually from fines collected through mayor's court. The difference is paid from the general fund, village officials said. This year, court fines have taken a dip, with only $4,000 collected.
Indications are that council intends to beef up the department after it gets its finances in order.
In November, or early next year, residents will be asked to increase their taxes by 1 mill to raise an additional $11,300 for the police department.
“It won't be overnight,” Ms. Whitaker said. “It might be two years, but until then we will maintain as much as we can until we can build it back up.”
For now, Chief Lane is working about two days a week, while Hamilton Township police provide mutual aid at no charge.
However, township Chief Gene Duvelius said he has told Ms. Lambert the village will have to turn over all tax money generated by the village police levy for coverage if Maineville dissolves its department. It'd also have to pass the additional levy to pay its share, he said.
June McEwan, who built a home in Maineville in 1995, is so fed up that she would rather see the village dissolve if it can't have a police department.
“I feel so secure with Joe. He knows our houses, the cars that belong in our driveways,” the 68-year-old Deershadow Road resident said.
“If we can't have Joe, and we're in such poor shape, they can just forget it.”
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