More vacancies expected in Oxford Police Department
By Joseph Goral
Staff Writer
jgoral@mihomepaper.com
OXFORD — The Oxford Village Council voted 3-0 to approve sponsoring a candidate to attend the police academy during its meeting on Sept. 10.
Council members Jacob Nicosia and Lori Bourgeau were absent from the meeting.
The candidate receiving the sponsorship is a local resident who is currently a reserve officer with the department, according to Oxford Police Chief Mike Solwold.
Departments must pay $4,500 for the academy plus a minimum hourly wage to the candidate, according to village documents. The Oxford Village Police Department will pay $12,486 for their candidate, whom village officials did not identify by name.
Candidates who put themselves through the academy must also have an associate’s degree, which is not required for sponsored candidates.
“We lost a four-year officer whose last day was last week, and we do have a full-time opening,” Village Manager Joe Madore said. “That’s kind of what brought this on.”
Madore said the village has received several applications for the position, but also that another officer is expected to retire in 18 months, at most.
These officers are not alone. Solwold told village council that it seems like he had “to replace five full-time positions in the last five years” because officers are going to other departments.
Other agencies also need positions filled, according to Solwold, and offer higher salaries and pensions.
“I’m trying to plan for the future here and invest in somebody that lives in this area, that wants to work in the profession and is dedicated to do that,” Solwold said.
Next year’s academy begins in January, and candidates must pass a written and physical test to earn a position. Solwold said the candidate will graduate in May, and start a three-to-four month field-training process before being able to work on their own.
Upon graduation, Solwold said a deal would be worked out where the officer would commit to work with the Oxford department for a certain period of time before deciding to stay with the department or move on.
While it is legal to hand-pick the candidate to send to the academy, village attorney Bob Davis said he has to look into whether the sponsored candidate can be contractually bound to commit back to Oxford.
According to Solwold, the department has 10 reserve officers, but each has a career outside of the department.