Court to cut budget so Toledo can hire more officers

Judge Michael Goulding and city councilman D. Michael Collins made the announcement at a hearing Tuesday afternoon. THE BLADE Enlarge | Photo Reprints

The Toledo Municipal Court has agreed to give up $350,000 from its proposed 2012 budget to help fund the recruitment of 30 new police officers for the city.

Municipal Court Judge Michael Goulding and Councilman D. Michael Collins made the announcement at a hearing Tuesday afternoon ahead of a final vote on the budget for the year.

The allocation would move forward to July plans to start the police class, which under Mayor Mike Bell’s proposal would have begun in November. Mr. Collins said he will also propose an additional police class of 30 for December, doubling the number of officers originally planned for this year.

The move would bolster police numbers at a time when staffing levels have declined significantly due to a large volume of retirements and lack of hiring over the past few years. Mayor Bell said during his State of the City speech Monday that his goal is to raise police levels from the current 545 to 600 by the end of his term in 2013.

“The courts have obviously recognized, while being a separate branch of government, government can only work if each institution can provide the core services that a republic requires,” Mr. Collins said. “It is because of their willingness to reduce their budget by $350,000, the citizens of the city of Toledo will have the comfort of knowing that we are taking progressive and positive steps to fulfil our responsibilities in providing a quality police force with the limited resources that we have.”

Mr. Goulding’s offer reduces the Municipal Court’s budget to $7.8 million for the year, which freezes it at 2011 levels.