In an announcement nobody saw coming, Mayor Carty Finkbeiner …
Advertisement
Toledo may get some cops back
More grants could be coming to the city
Updated: Friday, 05 Jun 2009, 12:15 AM EDT
Published : Thursday, 04 Jun 2009, 7:28 PM EDT
TOLEDO, Ohio - Some laid off Toledo police officers may be coming back to the
streets. The
Toledo Police Patrolman's Association was informed Thursday night, but there is some concern from
the union about the funding.
The President of the TPPA, Dan Wagner, is worried that Mayor
Carty Finkbeiner may not use the money for officers until a deal is
worked out with that neutral third party negotiator.
Wagner said this grant money is another
Justice Assistance Grant from the federal government. The other money is coming from
Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray's office. He estimates it could bring back about 14 of the 75 laid off
officers.
Wagner thinks with the thin ranks they have now, every little bit will help. If the money is held up, Wagner believes everyone suffers.
"When you have free money to be utilized to bring officers back, our concern is that he'll withhold the money to use it as a bargaining ploy and it shouldn't be," he said. "Your first priority should be the safety of your citizens and if you've got the money to bring them back, bring them back."
This money is not that major grant the city is waiting to hear back on. That's called a COPS Hiring Recovery Program grant. The city requested enough money to pay for 150 officers in that one. A decision should be made in August.
FOX Toledo talked with Chief of Staff Bob Reinbolt, who said
he'd recommend the mayor to wait on using the grant money, if in
fact they get it. Reinbolt added it's not in writing yet.
Once a new contract is worked out between the city and the
police union, the money can be used properly, reinbolt said. If,
for example, the money is used now, according to Reinbolt, and a
deal is worked out later and the concessions aren't enough, those
officers might have to be laid off again.
Comments that are derogatory, attack other users, offer unsubstantiated facts, use foul language or are offensive in nature can and will be removed as defined by the Terms of Service. FOX Toledo is not responsible for the content posted in this comment section. We reserve the right to remove any offensive or off-topic remark or thread. To mark a comment for review by a moderator, click "Report."
Email This
Print This
View Story on a Single PageAdvertisement
Advertisement