8/14/2019 Letter to the Editor - 7-17-09

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LIBERTY TOWNSHIP’S COORDINATED CONTRACT SERVICES -BUTLER COUNTY SHERIFF

Many have asked why Liberty Township does not have our own police department and why we

rely upon the Butler County Sheriff Office (BCSO) for our services. My short reply has been thatwe have the best of both worlds without many of the hassles.

Our residential growth skyrocketed from 1990 (9,249 residents) to 2008 (est. 35,000). Duringthose early years, we had two “assigned” deputies from the BCSO who patrolled Liberty alongwith other surrounding communities. These deputies were as a matter of statute and providedappropriate coverage.

By 1995, it became evident that we were in need of additional deputies. The trustees begancontracting with the BCSO. One deputy was full-time in 1995 and two more were added in 1996(in addition to the two “assigned” deputies).

Since then, we have gone from 2,000 calls for service in 1995 to 13,345 calls in 2008 covered by24 deputies, detectives and officers in Liberty Township with an annual budget of just under $2,000,000.

Periodically, we ask our staff and Finance Committee (volunteers from the financial field) toevaluate the coverage and whether it is cost effective to continue with the BCSO. It hasconsistently come back that we are providing our citizens with a service oriented and costeffective approach.

To that end, whenever we have a major incident in Liberty Township, we can call in additional

 personnel to assist. This means that the entire Sheriff Department is at our disposal in solvingcrimes. We do not have to employ specialists that are active only on a part-time basis, we sharethe services. It is a coordinated effort.

As to the future, we are continually evaluating our current situation. We have 24 deputies servingout of a small office (Sheriff Substation) in the back part of the Administration Building onPrinceton Road. Most of the time, the deputies are on patrol in their vehicles, but when they arein the office for updates or to file reports, space is at a premium.

The population and business growth continues - slowly for now, but with the upcoming openingof the Liberty Interchange, things may change. With these factors in mind, we need to puttogether a business plan for the future.

Again, we are working with our Finance Committee to determine when and how many deputieswe will need to add, the type of facility that handles expansion of these deputies as well asadequately provides for office reporting and detective work. This is all part of balancing our growth - appropriate coverage of services at a reasonable cost.