At the February meeting, Hiram Council approved two pieces of legislation. The first, Ordinance 2023-05, was passed as an emergency measure and moved to reduce the Hiram Police Department staff. This unfortunate decision was made due to the Department’s dwindling budget. It creates a hole in the Department’s roster as Patrolman Devin Brown was laid off.
The Department has made previous cuts to the budget, included reduction of administrative expenses and the retirement of the K9 officer Guapo. In addition, the Department has been contracted by Hiram Township for monthly patrol hours, for which the Department is compensated. Well in advance of this decision, Chief Gregory has been requesting assistance and direction that would enable the Department to serve the community with the hours and in the manner they’ve come to rely on.
Currently, the Department operates with Chief Brian Gregory who serves full-time alongside one other full-time officer. Additional shifts are filled by several part-time officers. Council planned a Town Hall meeting at Koritansky Hall to discuss ways to increase Village revenue on February 22nd. That meeting was cancelled due to ‘unforeseen circumstances,’ and at the time of printing, was not yet rescheduled.
In similar news, Council passed Resolution 2023-02 — Accepting two easements from Keith R. and Elisa L. Holmes for stormwater utility on real estate located on Hinsdale Road. These easements allow the Village access to repair or replace the Village-owned stormwater sewer in this area.
The next regularly scheduled Council meeting will take place on Tuesday, March 16th at 7 pm; residents are encouraged to attend.
