Martin recently told Cincinnati.com that the Villa Hills Police Department "is just as stable and sound as it was". Considering the recent departures from that local police department, that's an amazing piece of disinformation.
The Martin Chronicles has been sent an email that has been circulating amongst a group of concerned residents describing the current state of the Villa Hills Police Department. According to this email, the department has been reduced to four full-time and two part-time officers.
While we are certain that those four full-time and two part-time officers are dedicated professionals who continue to do their jobs well, they are undeniably facing a difficult task.
As we understand it, a department with four full-time and two part-time officers can work a total of 260 hours a week without incurring overtime. Do the math. There are 168 hours in a week.
So, there is very little flexibility to provide the necessary coverage when an officer has to go to court or attend required training. Also, Martin has ordered that a police officer be on hand to protect him at City meetings. The result of that piece of paranoia? Even more available hours to patrol the streets go out the window.
The email the concerned citizens are sharing says that Martin's Safety Committee explains that its hard to find "qualified" part-time police candidates. But, Martin wants to continue to search for part-time officers because he doesn't want to have to "pay for benefits".
But Martin isn't paying the police department out of his pocket. The taxpayers are. And those taxpayers are forking over their hard-earned money to, in part, cover a City Budget that includes funding for eight full-time police officers. The taxpayers certainly aren't getting what they're paying so dearly for.
Even if you still refuse to believe that this decimation of the local police department isn't the result of Martin's vendetta over his 2007 FORGERY ARREST, it is still deeply troubling. Because if this mess isn't intentional, it has to be the outcome of the worst case of abject mismanagement in the City's history.
The voters will decide if this abject mismanagement is to continue in 245 days.
