Bay Village City Council plans to cut police officers, union leaders fight back

BAY VILLAGE, Ohio - Bay Village police officer and union director Stacey Fifer is worried about any cut in the number of officers.

Fifer said Bay Village City Council is talking about eliminating the jobs of one to three officers. There are 24 officers, 13 of them patrol officers in this village of 15,000 people.

Council member Mike Young said that's too many for a city the size of Bay Village, which has 2,000 fewer people than it did in 1980 when there was one less officer. Young said it's council's job to run an efficient city.

But the union is shooting back, saying seven council people is too many for a village like Bay.

Violent crime like a domestic-related murder-suicide two years ago is rare in Bay Village, but Fifer said Bay has its share of crime.

Late Monday afternoon, Bay Village Mayor Debbie Sutherland told News Channel5 she has called for an emergency meeting Tuesday with the law director and city council. The mayor wants to meet in executive session to work something out to avoid any officers being laid off.

Sutherland said FBI statistics show Bay Village has the right amount of officers on the job.

If no agreement is reached this week union leaders want concerned citizens to voice their opinions at a city council meeting Feb. 6.