In 2019, the Miami Twp. Police Dept. had a staffing level of 40 sworn officers and 6 civilian employees, Miami Twp. Police Chief Charlie Stiegelmeyer told the Dayton Daily News. Today, that number has dwindled to 32 sworn officers and 5 civilian employees, Stiegelmeyer said.
Approving the levy would allow police to maintain service levels and eventually hire additional personnel, he said.
The department’s ranks have waned for two reasons — losing several officers to retirement and losing other officers to other police departments who have higher pay rates and better benefits than MTPD, Stiegelmeyer said.
“The Miami Twp. Police Department is experiencing the same issues that every other police department is facing in the country today,” he said. “Nobody wants to be police officers anymore, so when openings occur at other departments who pay better than we do, my officers are attracted to the higher paying police departments and they leave this agency to get better pay and benefits. I can’t blame them.”
To compound that issue, the number of people applying to the police academy has dropped “dramatically,” further restricting the officer candidate pool.
Stiegelmeyer said approval of the levy will allow MTPD to have a stabilized revenue source that will allow him to increase officer pay.
“This will help prevent experienced officers leaving this agency for other police agencies who have better pay,” he said “Stabilizing the work force is my primary goal and this levy will help me accomplish this.”
The Miami Twp. Police Dept. is funded by two tax levies — the soon-to-expire 5.25-mill levy and a 5.5-mill levy approved by voters in May 2019, which continues through 2024. It generates nearly $3.4 million for five years. The police department uses levy funds to pay police officers, purchase cruisers, purchase equipment, pay for training and fund day-to-day operating costs for the police department.
Stiegelmeyer said the police department is meeting the community’s safety needs and providing “a quality, professional police service” to the residents of Miami Twp., however, recruiting and retaining quality police officers is his primary focus.
“This is the No. 1 issue facing law enforcement today,” he said. " In order to recruit and retain quality officers, this department must become competitive in pay and benefits with the surrounding police departments. This levy would help tremendously in accomplishing this goal and help the department become fully staffed.”
In 2022, the department responded to 29,834 calls for service, including 1,960 non-violent crimes and 363 violent crimes. That marked a 10% increase for service over previous year, he said.
Stiegelmeyer, who became police chief in May 2019, said the police department’s budget of $6,710,640 that year decreased to $6,502,293 in 2020 , increased to $6,680,724 in 2021 and decreased to $6,621,875 in 2022.
As the chief of police, it is his responsibility to be fiscally responsible for spending taxpayer dollars, Stiegelmeyer said.
“The Miami Twp. Police Department has done a great job with balancing the budget and finding creative ways to fund equipment, training and policing services without raising the burden on taxpayers, he said.
Through grant funding opportunities and selling outdated and no longer needed equipment, the police department has been able to supplement levy funds, “but this funding is unreliable,” Stiegelmeyer said.
Grant monies become unavailable, and old equipment only brings in so much money, he said. The current levy collects tax rates established in 2013.
“In the last 10 years, inflation has raised the cost of everything and this affected everyone, including the police department,” Stiegelmeyer said. “Simple day-to-day operations such as purchasing gas for cruisers, the cost to purchase new cruisers, uniforms, body cameras, radios and other essential equipment have all increased but the levy rate did not.”
Approval of the levy is good for the township’s citizens, not just for the department’s budget, Stiegelmeyer said.
“In the current world we live in, where crime is reaching all-time highs and the number of police officers reaching all-time lows, can a community afford not to properly fund the police department?” he said.
Township Trustee President Terry Posey Jr. told this news outlet he was excited that voters have the opportunity to choose what type of township police department they want to have.
“The Miami Twp. Police Department is accredited and award-winning, but dependent on the township residents’ decision on how it is to be funded and this is an opportunity for them to make that decision,” Posey said.
About the Author
