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Butcher on Pataskala Police situation

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The Etna Township trustees held a special meeting Tuesday to address safety concerns after the recent failure of the Pataskala Police issue last month.

Mayor Steve Butcher says they are making cuts and have a contingency plan in place.

“Because we could find ourselves, even with the limited dollars we have left, short of officers. At that point we would take a look at a shift, like midnight to morning, tell the sheriff we can’t cover it.”

He says that council has every intention of bringing another levy before voters.


Butcher says they do have the option of contracting out to the sheriff’s office for coverage, but they don’t have the money to do that.

“The only way we are going to have police services is that the residents have to decide they want it, and they are willing to pay for it. If they don’t, then when they call the sheriff’s office, they’ll show up whenever they get to you, based on priority and availability of manpower.”

If a Pataskala Police issue is not passed in the next year, the police force could be completely dissolved in spring 2011.