Youngstown Times

Residents of Salem and interested parties, I recently delivered the State of the City Report to Salem City Council. I would like to present that report to you. Because it is lengthy, I will submit part one today.

At the end of 2021, our General Fund carryover was $1,464,360.40. We collected $5,666,145.36 to the General Fund in 2022. Unfortunately, our general expenses for 2022 totaled $6,029,049.33. This left our carryover at $1,101,456.43 at the end of 2022.

Be aware that our carryover has been decreasing every year due to inflation and expenses. 2023 is expected to bring record high inflation. A healthy carry over (approximately $750,000) is needed to fund the operations of the city into the first quarter of the new year.

The Fire Department with its full-time staff of professional firefighters, answered 2301 calls in 2022. The largest number of calls answered were medical responses, At 1,837 in all categories. Luckily, we had only 38 fire specific calls with 15 being building fires, three passenger vehicle fires, and one rail fire. The balance were minor fires like cooking fires, grass and vegetation fires, false alarms, lift assists, police assists, 17 animal problems, lock outs, hazardous substances/condition calls, 23 gas leaks, and electrical hazards. The Fire Department Ambulance Service billed for $71,950.80 in services to insurance companies from 1-1-22 to 9-30-22 alone. The average response time with our ambulance was 4.06 minutes to any point in the city.

The Police Department hired no new police officers in 2022. We continue to operate three part-time officers short due to the amount of full-time officer jobs available in the state. As our police officers retire, our part-time officers apply to fill their spots, leaving further vacancies in the part-time force.

Alli Beeson was promoted from part-time dispatcher to full-time when Leslie Roberts resigned to go to the County Sheriff's office. Lori Endsley and Josh Kruegal were hired and completed training as part-time, 20 hour per week dispatchers. Lindsay Fraas was promoted to dispatch supervisor.

The Department applied for and was awarded a $154,000 officer retention grant from the Office of Criminal Justice Services. This money will be dispersed quarterly in 2023 for retention of officers. Eight Mobile Data Terminals were replaced in marked patrol cars. Two dispatch computers, the chief's computer, and one detective's computer were replaced. A 75- inch monitor in dispatch was added for monitoring city security cameras in city hall, the parks, and city schools. Two patrol cars and a K-9 vehicle were replaced. Detectives served 11 residential search warrants, 10 residential consent searches, 12 electronic search warrants, 10 electronic consent searches, 3 vehicle search warrants, and 45 indictments.

We had 11,617 dispatch calls, the largest number being medical and miscellaneous. We had one abduction call, 42 missing persons, 491 alarm issues, 244 animal complaints, 473 crashes, 235 domestic disputes, 138 disputes without threats, 39 menacing calls, one shooting, 109 Fraud, ID theft, counterfeit calls, 24 solicitor calls, 52 OVI, six underage consumptions, 79 intoxicated people, 41 narcotics related calls, 182 juvenile delinquents, 15 endangered children, 549 wellbeing checks, 107 harassment, 19 custody issues, 230 noise complaints, 16 person with gun or knife reports, 131 warrant checks/arrests, 213 persons at risk, four transient issues, 127 obstructed roadways, 22 physical sex offenses, five other sex-related reports, 684 suspicious reports, 268 thefts, 268 lost property, 66 Breaking and entering/burglary, 179 trespassing, 1549 traffic offenses, 330 parking violations. Reports by patrolmen totaled 7,322; 782 people were arrested in 2022 with 1,043 charges.

Our officers received training in 2022 in domestic violence, officer wellness, vicarious trauma, sexual assault, responding to mental health crisis, cultural humility diversity, inclusion, equity, use of force, street smarts/proactive patrol tactics, OHLEG Security, criminal intelligence systems, safeguarding privacy, civil rights and civil liberties in task force operations, task force commander leadership, executive leadership training, Fine Line of Abuse CVSA recertification, core criminal investigation, crisis intervention trauma and the brain, sexual assault investigations, and biological evidence collection.

The K-9 officers received Blue Line Training-16 hours, and state recertification. Patrolmen also completed 16 hours of criminal patrol drug interdiction, and concealed firearm carry changes. Other specialized trainings according to job responsibilities took place.

Our officers worked closely with three county peer counselors. These peer counselors assist with trying to get individuals into treatment when addiction and other mental health issues are identified. They also supported a full-time school resource officer for the safety of our city schools. Let's not forget our two K-9 officers who continue to perform well and are popular with the public.

Almost 80% of our General Fund is spent on funding our safety forces. That leaves 20% to fund everything else. This seems high, but in speaking with mayors in other cities, it is not unusual. The city can be proud of the good work our safety forces deliver every day. When I speak with people, they often comment that they feel very safe here in Salem. That feeling is priceless. A city can have the nicest streets and buildings, but if the city isn't a safe place to be, we have nothing.

Cyndi Baronzzi Dickey,

Mayor of the City of Salem

Original source can be found here.