CHAMPION — Voters in Champion showed their support to the police department by passing a 1.6-mill, five-year additional police levy to help maintain services provided by the department.

Unofficial and incomplete results from the Trumbull County Board of Elections in Tuesday’s primary election had the levy passing 56% for to 44% against.

Trustee Chairman Doug Emerine said he credits the police department and the excellent staff who have come to know the community and the residents.

“They (police department) have made a good impact on addressing the needs of the public,” he said.

Emerine said passage of the levy will help the police department maintain what it currently has.

Emerine said if the levy had failed, then trustees would have tried again in November.

He said if it had failed again in November, the township would have begun shutting down the department. He said two public informational meetings helped educate the public on the needs of the police department.

“We held those meetings and gave them all the information we had,” Emerine said

Trustee Rex Fee said the decision was up to the voters who went to the ballot and showed their support for the levy.

“We are very appreciative of the support,” Fee said.

He also credits the people who provided the public with the information on the need for levy passage.

The 1.6-mill, five-year additional police levy will generate $413,000 annually. The owner of a $100,000 home will pay $56 per year.

Police Chief Larry Skaggs said there are seven police officers and himself in the department, which often is not enough to cover shifts when people are off because of illness or vacation.

He said police wages in Champion are lower than most other departments, including those of comparable size and call volume, such as Brookfield and Weathersfield.

Skaggs said in 2024, the department had 6,335 calls for service and 2,600 traffic stops.

“Our officers are constantly busy,” he said.

Skaggs said township police officers not only handle calls to Champion schools, but also respond to Trumbull Career & Technical Center, Kent State University at Trumbull and Fairhaven, which are all in the township.

The police department’s operating expenses in 2024 were just over $1 million.

Skaggs said all non-essentials in the department have been cut, including a secretary. He has been handling those duties.

Emerine said grants help, but officials cannot run a police department on grants.

“We need levy dollars because that is a sustainable income,” Emerine said during the campaign.