Area clergy vocal of their support for Mansfield police & fire safety services levy

MANSFIELD — Mansfield voters will be deciding this Tuesday, May 7th, on whether to renew a police and fire safety levy that two leading area pastors strongly support.

“I have encouraged my congregation and all those in my sphere of influence to support our police and fire departments this coming Tuesday,” says Reverend Paul Larson of the First English Lutheran Church.

The four-year safety levy generates about $7 million each year, all of which goes to the city’s police and fire departments.

“We can’t even fathom what it would look like to serve our citizens without this levy,” said Mansfield Mayor Tim Theaker.

According to Theaker, the Mansfield Police Department had 37,646 calls for service and arrested 4,978 people in 2018. He added that the police department employs 82 sworn officers and 35 civilians.  The department has been budgeted for 83 officers in 2019.

Reverend DeWayne Smith of the Main Street United Methodist Church credits the police department for its active involvement with neighborhood watch programs and youth programs.

“Over the past decade there has been racial discord and attitudes of hostility in certain parts of our nation towards law enforcement. But in Mansfield, our Police Department has won the respect of its citizens by actively working with schools and with citizens. With collaborations like METRICH and the Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force, our police wear their professionalism as a badge of honor.”

The mayor said the fire department answered 10,800 calls for service in 2018, including 2,926 fire-related calls and 7,874 EMS calls.  The fire department employs 90 sworn firefighters and three civilians.  The 911 Communications Center is currently budgeted for 17 total, which includes a supervisor and an operations supervisor. 

“These public servants lay their lives on the line every day. Businesses and residents rely on these services and when that 911 call is made, people’s lives are on the line-it can be a matter of seconds.” says Reverend Larson.

“Since incorporating emergency medical dispatch into the services we provide our citizens, maintaining this staffing level is critical in serving our citizens as the level they expect and deserve,” Safety-Service Director Lori Cope said.

If approved by voters, the tax would continue for four more years, from Jan. 1, 2020, through Dec. 31, 2023. “It will be important for voters to turn out at the election polls to support our safety services,” says Reverend Smith.

The Bottom Line:

The Bible says in Psalm One-Hundred-Forty, “Keep me safe, LORD, from the hands of the wicked; protect me from the violent, who devise ways to trip my feet.”