Niles citizens question recall of officer to guard city hall
Niles City Council has called for a meeting between the city's safety and finance committees to take a closer look at a proposal to bring back a laid off police officer to serve as security at City Hall.
NILES, Ohio - Niles City Council has called for a meeting between the city's safety and finance committees to take a closer look at a proposal to bring back a laid off police officer to serve as security at City Hall.
The proposal was sparked by a threatening message on social media. Council is deciding if the city can the city afford the officer and if is it a wise use of tax dollars.
At Wednesday night's council meeting, many citizens weighed in.
"If I have an issue or concern with somebody down the street with me I don't get a $50,000 police officer to come and sit in a building," said one resident.
"Yes, they need security down there but, we do need officers on the street because there are drug problems in this city," said another resident.
The city's service director says the officer wouldn't be restricted to city buildings.
"What's the difference what he is doing, as long as he is back to work," said the Service Director. "And he's not going to be just in the building he is going to be around town as needed too."
Also chiming in on the debate were several city workers on just how concerned they are for their safety-- all stemming from the same man.
"The lady behind you shakes and gets rashes all over her body every day because a certain individual may go into her office 22 times in one day," explained one city worker.
Council adjourned into executive session to discuss the option to bring back an officer.
During that time, one city worker told 21 News the man of concern has followed and harassed him to the point that he obtained a protection order.
"He's on me for months at a time. Then he will find somebody else to go after. He harasses everybody in the city anymore. He follows the water department. Last Saturday he followed the water department all day when they went out to put meters in. When he runs out of other people he comes back and starts harassing me again," said Mark Holmes, Chief of Maintenance for Niles Parks and Recreation.
When council returned from executive session they did not take any action to call back an officer.
"We owe it to the 19-thousand tax payers that live here in Niles to do our due diligence and not move into something that we can't move away from," said Finance Chairman Barry Steffey.
Council plans to schedule a meeting sometime Thursday between the safety and finance committee -- there they will take a closer look at the long term and short term effects a move to bring back an officer could have on the city. An exact time for the meeting has not been set.
