Truesdale Police Chief Casey Doyle was quick to thank city officials for promoting a sales tax measure and helping get it passed. 

In the April 2 election, voters passed a ballot initiative to increase the city’s sales tax by one-half of one percent with the additional revenue going to the police department. The measure had 75 voters in favor compared to 42 who were opposed.

“The city was a tremendous help. The city hall staff, mayor, aldermen were very helpful in communicating with the public,” Doyle said. 

The department currently consists of Doyle and six officers including a school resource officer at Rebecca Boone Elementary School, Officer Tyler King. 

One of the goals with the passage of the sales tax measure according to Doyle was to raise the funds necessary to transition the department into a full time law enforcement agency. Currency the station is not staffed 24/7 and calls that come outside of staffed hours are transferred to the Warren County Sheriff’s Department. 

Doyle said that with the growth that is expected to experience in the next decade he feels that a full time agency will become a necessity in the next few years. There is already one housing development underway in Truesdale with another waiting to begin construction in the fall of this year. 

He also felt that it was important to raise the funds to maintain a competitive salary for his officers compared to nearby departments. He felt he had a strong group of officers on staff and wanted to make sure he had the means necessary to pay them adequately. 

In the immediate future, Doyle has some ideas on what he hopes to spend some of the funds on. Many of those ideas involve ensuring that the department is “better equipped” in the future. 

One purchase he has already planned is a standby generator for the department since they currently have no form of backup electricity if the station were to lose power. 

He also mused that they may look into improved dash cams, and drone technology down the line. The station currently has one drone and several officers studying to take their FAA Part 107 exam to pilot the drone.

He hoped in the future they could purchase a more advanced drone with capabilities like thermal vision so they could be more effective with its use. 

Doyle also said that while he has plenty of ideas for how to use the increased funding to improve the department’s service in Truesdale he would love to hear input from the public as well. 

He invited members of the public who think they may have a suggestion on the expanded police funding to reach out to the department.