City: Public safety position makes departmentmore efficient

Hamilton’s police chief will wear a different hat starting in January.

The city of Hamilton announced in August that Hamilton Police Chief Scott Scrimizzi had been selected to become the city’s public safety director in 2015, a position which oversees the city’s Police and Fire Divisions and which has traditionally been held by the city manager.

Scrimizzi, who has been chief of the Hamilton Police Department since 2012, submitted his resignation on Dec. 15, as required to accept the position of public safety director. On Wednesday, the city named Captain Craig Bucheit as Hamilton’s next police chief, effective Jan. 2, and Scrimizzi is expected to take the mantle of public safety director on Jan. 5.

While a draft employment contract for the director of public safety has been submitted to the city’s law department, at the time this newspaper went to print, it had not been signed yet, according to Law Director Heather Lewis. Szicrimiz’s salary as police chief was $120,994 with benefits.

Examples of the director’s duties include managing the development and implementation of the public safety divisions’ goals, objectives and priorities, managing the development and implementation of the city’s compliance with federal and state safety and security programs, including programs under the United States Department of Homeland Security, supervising security of all city facilities, providing public safety consultation services to department heads, coordinating the police and fire budgets, and representing the public safety divisions on public safety boards.

Scrimizzi said from a police chief’s perspective, having a director with a background in public safety to make decisions for the city’s largest departmental budget is essential, and enables City Manager Joshua Smith to focus on running a $323 million budget for 2015.

“We have monthly scheduled meetings to sit down, but he’s busy and a lot of times, we don’t even get to do that,” he said. “It’s such a huge part of the budget that takes up the majority of the general fund, there needs to be a set of eyes on it every day.”

Smith said that while past city managers have been more focused on public safety, he felt that utilizing Scrimizzi’s qualifications as a graduate of the FBI National Academy and the Police Executive Leadership College, as well as city police chief, would better benefit the city’s largest department with no current director.

“We don’t have the luxury of money in these departments, and we need to be operating these departments much more efficiently and effectively than we ever have in the past,” he said.

Hamilton Police Department has requested $13,962,990 for their 2015 operating budget, up $572,367 or approximately 4 percent from $13,390,623 in 2014. Hamilton’s Fire Department hopes to work with a 2015 budget of $11,997,022, up from $11,578,984 in 2014, according to the city Finance Department.

Smith also pointed to Scrimizzi’s qualifications to perform duties such as conducting Homeland Security audits on the city’s utilities at Meldahl, Greenup and the Third Street Powerplant.

“Those Homeland Security audits are very different from what most cities have, and Scott Scrimizzi is the only person on staff who is trained to receive Homeland Security briefings,” he said.

Scrimizzi has been involved in Homeland Security for 15 years, thanks to his work as the HPD SWAT team commander. He was also commander of the Criminal Investigations Division which included the Detective section, Narcotics section and Internal Affairs.

“I think I can be an asset to both chiefs to be able to come, have a decision made in a timely fashion,” he said. “(Smith)’s got a passion for economic development and I think that’s why we see so much positive stuff going on, he can spend more of his time there.”

Hamilton resident James Johns said after the Dec. 17 City Council meeting that he was concerned about the city rehiring retired public safety employees. Fellow Hamilton resident Bob Harris agreed.

“There are people around town with college educations,” he said. “Why do we only take care of our own here?”

Smith said in an August press release that the director of public safety position could save the city an estimated $27 million annually. While examples of those savings were not directly available, he said that maximizing existing resources will help run department more efficiently and ultimately save money.

“We are spending less today on public safety than we were a couple of years ago, and I want to manage those resources and maximize those resources,” he said.

In recent years, the city manager has also held the title of public safety director, but City Ordinance Code 2755 adopted in January 1928 reads that the newly developed Department of Public Safety “would be controlled and administered by the City Manager or by a director of public safety, to be appointed by the City Manager.”

“Being an older city, much of our operations are currently based on legacy — not optimal practices,” Smith said. “I need someone that oversees the department to conduct strategic oversight of that department at a lower cost.”

    Middletown City Council approved Tuesday the appointment of police ChiefDavid VanArsdale to become the city’s public safety director effective Jan. 4.His annual salary was set at $98,576 and will report to City Manager DougAdkins. VanArsdale became chief following the retirement of former chief GregSchwarber in May 2011.