A home run for Saint Paris

Dissolving the Saint Paris police department in favor of a patrol contract with the Sheriff has been by all accounts a huge success for the village. Even those who bitterly opposed the move are now praising it.

That's because everyone sees the results:

• We eliminated the police-budget creep that was crowding out other essential services. Instead we're spending about $100,000 less this year. That's money that will be used for infrastructure. Not only this year but in the years to come.
• By converting the police building into a sheriff substation, we've greatly increased around-the-clock officer presence.
• Everyone in western Champaign County benefits from the elevated safety.
• We've eliminated the turnover merry-go-round of young, untested officers. (Seventeen resignations in two and a half years!)
• We have favorably affected citizens in other towns, where elected officials are considering eliminating their own police squads in favor of the "Saint Paris model."

It was an easy decision

The move was made because the small-town policing model no longer works in the post-Covid, post-George-Floyd-BLM world. Fewer young people are choosing careers in law enforcement, which means law-enforcement agencies of any size are having trouble finding recruits. Which means it's no longer necessary for young officers to begin their careers in small-town police squads. And if they do, it's merely to collect a check until they hear back from the larger departments to which they've already applied.

By the way, this move had nothing to do with the personalities involved. It was all about saving money and resolving the turnover and recruitment problem. The goal was effective law enforcement within our budget.

Getting here wasn't so easy

Mayor Susan Prince was accused of introducing this move in Feburary of last year because the village police wrote her a ticket. Nonsense. I was there. Weeks before we had already approached the sheriff for contract numbers.

The turnover problem was blamed on Mayor Prince and certain members of council who were accused of mistreating officers. The accusers stood up in public and said they had affadavits proving their charge. (The affadavits never appeared.)

Members of council were repeatedly accused of lying about the anticipated savings. (Turns out we saved even more than was predicted.)

When you stand up in public and call someone a liar, it means you have nothing else to say. You've lost the debate.

Kudos to Mayor Prince and the other two members of council (Julien and Lett) who had the foresight and, dare I say, the courage to stand up for the village in voting for this move in the face of bitter opposition.

-- Joe Curran, Village Councilman