Residents of Mahoning Township continue to ask for more police coverage.

Linda Pollock told township supervisors at Wednesday’s meeting that she filed a Right-to-Know concerning overtime for the police department.

“The police department is going through a ridiculous amount of overtime hours,” Pollock said.

Board Chairman Robert Slaw told Pollock that township police Chief Audie Mertz does the scheduling.

Pollock then asked the board how much time in advance officers need to give to have time off approved.

Supervisor Ronald Reeser said that depends on how many days off they’re requesting.

Reeser noted that Pollock was asking about two matters: Overtime and vacation time.

Not to be dismayed, Pollock said she believes the township has enough officers to cover shifts.

She also said officers have accumulated 307 hours of overtime, which occurred over the course of five weeks time.

Slaw said the board has instructed Mertz to hire part-time officers.

“We can’t find any,” Slaw said. “We’ve been trying for three years.”

After Slaw said that the township hasn’t had tax increases (except for in 2022, when the board approved a 1-mill increase), resident Andrew Yenser said that wasn’t his concern.

“I’m not worried about taxes,” said Yenser, who added he was concerned about the township having better police coverage. “My questions are for his (Mertz’s) superiors.”

Slaw answered, “I can only say that we’re working on it.”

Reeser agreed with Slaw.

“We are working on it,” Reeser said. “We’re trying to come to a resolution.”

Reeser said that Mertz has stated anyone with any questions may stop out at the township police station Monday through Friday to speak with him.

That response clearly didn’t satisfy Yenser.

“This is our opportunity to talk to the people who represent all of us,” said Yenser, who then questioned “why you can’t have him (Mertz) present at a meeting.”

Slaw told Yenser that the board asked Mertz to be in attendance, but that he refused.

Slaw said the situation the township faces with its police department is no different from other departments.

Yenser said he was voicing his concerns “that there’s a lack of (police) coverage.”

Yenser then asked what is the best police coverage the township can get, and wondered if the township was maximizing the coverage that it has with its present personnel.

Reeser said the board is doing all that it can, but cautioned that it isn’t going to happen right away.

Last month, resident Jeffrey Miller, who resides at Mahoning Drive West, said that the township should have 24/7 police coverage.

Reeser told Miller at that time that as far as 24/7 police coverage, it will not be implemented immediately.

He said the township has five full-time officers, including Mertz.

Miller said the township has five full-time officers that work four 10-hour shifts a week.

Miller asked the board in December for more police coverage after he told them he has had numerous problems with his next door neighbor.

Miller told the board that during an incident, he called 911, but no township police officers were on duty, so he called state police and it took three hours for officers to arrive, he said.

Miller said it made him “very uncomfortable” having to defend himself against his neighbor.

Reeser added that the township hasn’t had 24/7 police coverage for the past several years.

Regardless, Miller said more coverage is necessary.

Reeser said that when he looks at the salaries township police officers are making, he is not in favor of adding another full-time officer.

Slaw said doing that would require the township to raise taxes.

Reeser said the township isn’t considering doing anything radical.

The township has five full-time officers, counting Mertz.

This year’s police salary is $83,346 per year, which does not include overtime.

The township has an officer who will earn $122,000 this year with overtime.