QUINCY — After hearing from the public Tuesday night, the Quincy Village Council voted to keep its police department, cutting back to three people and a part-timer to raise salaries.
The department will be without any officers starting April 25. Kasey Cappella, the last officer, resigned after seven months to join the University of Michigan Police Department.
The village will depend on the Branch County Sheriff's Office until new hires are made.
Chief Mike Kolassa resigned on March 19 after the Department of Homeland Security found malware downloaded to his patrol car computer.
Village manager Brittany Butler presented four options for police protection to the council and the public, who filled the small meeting room for the public hearing to support keeping the department.
- The current chief and three officers would cost the village $359,786 for the fiscal year.
- A chief with two full-time and one part-time officer costs $356,592.
- A chief with two officers was $331,312.
- A contract with the Branch County Sheriff for 2,213 hours a year of service was $177,710.
That contract would not guarantee deputies in the village at any specific time because they would patrol county-wide.
Councilwoman Karen Hargreave, in her 26th year on the council, recommended the option with the chief, two full-time and one part-time officer. "We need to make sure we have enough people on hand."
That proposal passed unanimously.
Butler said keeping police is hard for the village. "Quincy is a steppingstone."
The $22 an-hour starting pay is one problem. The Branch County Sheriff starts deputies at $24.09 an hour, Coldwater at $26.41, and now Union City has raised starting police pay to $23 an hour.
Butler's proposal to cut back half an officer would allow Quincy to start officers at $24 an hour.
The chief's salary would increase from $61,656 to $70,000 a year, and the cost with benefits would be $106,468 a year.
Councilman Andrew Craig, Quincy Schools technology coordinator, said he keeps both jobs separate. "But the most important thing in our community is the children. Having our own police presence local provides quick action," he said.
That echoed concerns raised by Missy Connin, Jennings Elementary principal. The school system went through crisis and threat training to better protect students. "My concern is not having somebody local and not having somebody available right away," she said.
School superintendent Marc Kramer said if there was a threat, "Our priority is to get all of our kids behind closed doors as quickly as we can barricade. Then we're looking for a quick (police) response."
Kramer said the local police department was never more than five minutes away.
Quincy Township trustees and Chamber of Commerce president Marilyn Ostrander told the council, "All of the things that we do help to make this community a community. People want to come to live here because they feel safe here because we've had police coverage."
The township provided $24,000 a year for police until last year when the township could no longer afford the cost.
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Others raised safety concerns for businesses and older residents in the 1.3-square-mile village, which has only eight miles of streets.
Butler said that since 2013, the village has hired 22 officers, averaging 2.79 years with the department. The manager said that turnover rates are about the same for most small area departments.
"This is not just an issue in Quincy but around the country regarding police departments," she said.
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Butler will now post the open chief's job.
When Quincy hired Kolassa in June 2022, there were only two applicants. The other withdrew.
---Contact Don Reid: dReid@Gannett.com.
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