BERKEY, Ohio — In a letter to eight townships last year, Lucas County Sheriff Mike Navarre said they need to pay for policing there because the cost of patrolling them is too high compared to other areas that need it more.
The eight townships are: Richfield, Spencer, Harding, Swanton, Providence, Jerusalem, Springfield and Monclova.
Springfield and Monclova townships agreed to pay to have policing services after residents approved a levy.
In a letter to the remaining six this month, he said if they don't pay, his deputies will only respond to emergency situations starting Jan. 1, 2023.
"Our township has very, very few priority calls compared to the other townships in our area," Richfield Township trustee Andrew Lumbrezer said.
Richfield Township is one of six in Lucas County currently patrolled by the sheriff's department.
Lumbrezer said the patrols don't benefit the township enough to justify the price.
"Our township just can't afford that," he said. "So with nothing really changing as far as patrolling in our area, we felt that it was best to keep things the way they are."
Jerusalem Township trustee Mark Sattler shares the same sentiment for his respective constituency.
"We do not and to my knowledge have never had a 100% presence by a sheriff deputy in Jerusalem Township," said Sattler.
Navarre told Lumbrezer and Sattler their townships won't see much of a difference in coverage.
By law, they will receive what's considered minimal coverage but the trustees said that's all they've ever had.
"As far as them being here at a specific time when a priority calls in, it's like one in a million," Lumbrezer said. "They're going to be responding from a different township anyway. The response time is going to be negligible for us."
Neighboring cities and townships that already provide mutual aid will also respond in emergency situations.