By Steve Kemme
The Cincinnati Enquirer

COLUMBIA TWP. - In an effort to improve safety, the township has agreed to pay the Hamilton County Sheriff's Department for the assignment of two additional deputies.

This action ensures that at least one deputy will be in Columbia Township at all times.

"We're hoping we're going to see a significant improvement in the police protection," said township Administrator C. Michael Lemon. "It should reduce response time to emergency calls."

Township trustees this week approved a four-year contract with the sheriff for $525,000 a year, about $150,000 a year more than the previous contract.

The contract increases the number of deputies assigned to Columbia from five to seven. The $351,764 in revenue from a 3-mill police levy approved by voters in May will pay for the two additional deputies.

This will eliminate the times when the only patrol car covering Columbia Township is also responsible for Sycamore Township south of Interstate 275.

The new deal will allow the township, which is split into nine separate segments, to have two or three deputies during afternoon rush hours and other busy times, she said.

Jean Gould, a 72-year-old township resident, welcomed the extra police protection.

"I live here by myself, and there's so much stuff going on nowadays," she said.

But her next-door neighbor, Ron Yauger, disagreed. "I think the police levy was a ploy to get more money into the pot," he said. "They had to scare people into thinking they needed more protection."

E-mail skemme@enquirer.com.