By John Kiesewetter
The Cincinnati Enquirer

MONROE - Greg Homer says his experience as a Sharonville police officer during that city's boom in the 1970s should help him as he comes to this fast-growing small city as police chief.

Homer, 54, starts May 10 as chief in a city with 19 full-time and 10 part-time officers. Sharonville had only 14 officers when the Price Hill native was hired as a patrolman in 1973.

"What I learned from Sharonville's growth was something I think they were looking for in Monroe," Homer said. Sharonville was one of Hamilton County's booming northern suburbs in the 1970s and '80s with completion of Interstate 275.

"He knows how growth impacts a police department, and how as a city our size grows, it's hard to keep up financially, so you must be innovative," said City Manager Bill Brock. Monroe, which became a city in 1995, has 8,500 residents.

Homer worked 26 years in Sharonville, rising to the rank of assistant chief. For 21/2 years, he has been chief over a 10-person department in the Clermont County village of Amelia.

A Lebanon resident, Homer said he was looking for a job closer to home. "It's hard to be involved in a community when you live 45 minutes away," he said.

Homer replaces Chief Ernest Howard, who retired in January after 13 years here.

Other finalists for the Monroe job were Trenton Police Chief Rodney Hale and North College Hill Police Chief Paul Toth, Brock said. Glendale Police Chief Matthew Fruchey withdrew from consideration last week. Brock said.

E-mail jkiesewetter@enquirer.com