A little more than a week into its existence, the North Lewisburg Police Department is already thinking bigger.
Village council met Tuesday night and approved measures setting pay rates for part-time officers and creating an auxiliary police force.
Members of the auxiliary force are not paid but are trained and certified police officers and have full arrest powers within the village. North Lewisburg Police Chief Scott Bodey said some agencies use their auxiliary as support personnel, but in the village they will be regular patrolling officers.
The auxiliary will be comprised of no more than five members and those serving could eventually be shifted over to paid part-time officers.
Council approved an ordinance establishing the auxiliary as an emergency measure.
Officials also approved an ordinance establishing the starting pay for part-time officers at $13 per hour. No additional salary schedule was approved.
Mayor Cheryl Hollingsworth commended Bodey for the timely manner in which he was able to create the village police force.
When village officials decided to form their own department earlier this year, they believed they could negotiate a six-month extension on the contract for police coverage with the village of Mechanicsburg. In April, the extension was not offered and the contract expired, leaving the Champaign County Sheriff’s Department to respond to calls.
In just a matter of weeks Bodey was able to get the department in operation, even if uniforms and badges are still on order. Bodey explained that portions of the dress uniforms selected were delayed because a large metro agency made a large volume purchase and depleted the stock. He said items that should have taken a few days to receive are now going to take a few weeks.
Bodey also explained that he is still spending a quantity of his working hours on administrative work associated with creating the department.
Village officials also approved a transfer of $32,000 from the department’s motor vehicle funds into equipment, as a new cruiser will not be purchased for the department this year so the money can be used for start-up costs. The department currently has one cruiser and a second older unit, previously used for patrols by Mechanicsburg, is being readied for use with equipment and new striping.
The phone number for anyone needing police services in the village is 937-653-3409.
In other business, council:
•The council officially decided to suspend the village cleanup week for 2020. Officials felt it would not be timely and would be too difficult to postpone the event until later in the year.
•Learned that Memorial Day services in the village had been canceled.
•Was told by village administrator Andy Yoder that council will need to take a look at the village budget as the pandemic will impact the village income tax and payments from the gas tax. Yoder said he would gather data so that officials could discuss the impact on the village at a future meeting.