AUSTINTOWN TWP., Ohio - Austintown Township is moving forward with one of its first major cost-cutting decisions since voters rejected a proposed police levy last fall — the early retirement of both of the department’s K-9s.

The decision was approved unanimously by the township trustees during Monday night’s meeting. The K-9s, originally expected to serve for at least a couple more years, will now be retired effective July 6.

“This board of trustees, along with the police chief, is reviewing and looking for additional ways to save funds within the police department,” said Austintown Township Trustee Bruce Shepas. “Unanimously, we all agreed that these cuts were necessary today.”

The police department says the K-9 program costs roughly $20,000 a year. Austintown Police Chief Valerie Delmont said ending the program now will save the township about $10,000 for the remainder of this year and another $20,000 in 2026.

“To lose them is definitely heartbreaking,” Delmont said. “They’re a deterrent, they do drug detection, tracking, building searches. They're such an important resource.”

Between May and December of 2024, the dogs were deployed nearly 30 times, assisting with arrests, searches, and public safety efforts.

Chief Delmont said the department has already made several smaller budget cuts in recent months, but the savings were not enough to close the funding gap. “We’ve cut little things that are not making a significant difference, and we needed to be able to cut something that was more significant dollar-wise,” she said.

Following the levy’s failure by just over 700 votes in November 2024, township leaders had warned that cuts would be likely. While there has been no formal discussion about placing a new police levy on the ballot this year, Shepas said the township did promise to wait at least one year.

“If that levy does go on the ballot in November, even if it passes, we wouldn’t see any funding until late 2026,” he said.

In the meantime, both township officials and police leadership say additional cuts are expected as they continue to reevaluate the department’s budget line by line.