Village solicitor, Julie Spain, shown at right, swears in Richwood Village Council members at the first meeting of 2024, Monday. All three members were voted back in during the November election. Members are, from left: Reddy Brown, council member; Don Ridgeway, member and Scott Jerew, mayor.
(Journal-Tribune photo by Michael Williamson)
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The Richwood Police Department is bumping its pay to stay competitive with neighboring agencies.
At the Monday regular meeting, council voted to approve pay increases for the police department across the board.
Council met in executive session early in the meeting to discuss compensation before returning to regular session and making the motion.
Council member Von Beal said the decision ensures the village maintains a police department.
“We’re doing this with the enormous increases that are happening at the county sheriff’s department,” he said. “Without doing this, we will not have a police department in the Village of Richwood. And if so, it would be severely limited to a Thursday night, Friday night, Saturday night type of thing, part-time. And I don’t think we want to let our police department go away.”
In November, sheriff’s office, union officials and commissioners agreed on a new contract for the department. Starting on Jan. 1, salaries within the department went up in order to compete with the City of Marysville’s Division of Police. The contract was made possible by the passage of the 2024 county budget, which included an increase to the sheriff’s office budget from $9.4 million to $10.6 million.
The new pay for Richwood will include $30 an hour for basic patrol officers. The sergeant position, which is currently open, will go to $32 an hour. The department has a single lieutenant position, which previously was listed as hourly and will now be salary. That amount will be set at $70,720 annually.
The police chief will also go from $69,628 to $75,000.
Also, at the meeting Monday night, council discussed the third phase of the work on Franklin Street. Bids on the project will open in February for the project.
The roadwork will go from south of Tawa Road on South Franklin Street north toward the center of town.
Officials said work will go “as far as the money can take it,” noting that the goal would be Bomford Street but that may not happen.
Village Administrator Monte Asher said the start time is dependent on who wins the bid and how soon the pre-construction meeting can be held.
“It will be this year,” Asher said.