Question from Anonymous

The cost may be little help but isnt finding money a problem for Haz Duty? I mean everything helps. I know of alot of cities that charge anywhere from $50-$75 depending on how many times police Depts and Fire depts have to respond over adn over and over to the same places each night. This takes away from response time to the publis for real problems that need to be took care of at that time. Now that we have talked about the false alarms lets get to Employee Retention. Yes ive herard all abtou the three officers that are in the process, btu what about the others that are looking else where? and its all because of better pay and Hax duty. Younger officers are going to other departments for this reason!!! your not gona keep GOOD qualified employee's. What if next week, three more officers leave? the city needs to fix this problem now not next year. Ive know a many mayors and city council members in my time, but i have never seen such an anti-police and fire city such as this, why is that?

Steve Connelly answered:

I will ask Chief Rigsby for his opinion on charging for false alarms. Thank you for the suggestion.

Berea is not anti-police and fire. They are recognized as valuable employees and are highly regarded for their skill and dedication. However, Berea must live within its means. It must be fair to all of its employees and its citizens. The hard question is how to balance wants and needs.

One example is the current cost of health insurance. To keep the current policy, Berea would get a 25% increase on this cost. However, with a few minor reductions in coverage, the city can limit that increase to 15%. Even at that lower rate, the city will pay $720,000 next year to provide this insurance coverage. This is part of the balancing.