Brookfield Police Chief Aaron Kasiewicz is breathing a sigh of relief now that his department is fully staffed for the first time in his about 16 months as chief.
Meanwhile, over at Brookfield Fire Department, the command staff is spinning its wheels wondering what it can do to attract new employees. A call for a full-time firefighter was met with one application and that person was not a paramedic, a prerequisite for the job.
Township trustees hired Christopher Russo as a full-time policeman on Oct. 6, and on Oct. 27 welcomed back James Kalaman, who had left in June to take a job in Akron. Russo had been a policeman in Vienna for three years, a part-timer in Fowler, served as a military policeman in the Navy and Air Force and has law enforcement experience in Michigan. He has worked security at Brookfield football games.
“He knows all the guys, he knows what we do here,” Kasiewicz said. “I think he’s gonna make a great addition to the department.”
Kalaman served full time in Brookfield for 4½ years. Even though he comes back as low man on the totem pole, “He’s excited about coming back,” Kasiewicz said. “The guys are excited about having him back.”
The hirings give the police department a full complement of 10 full-time officers.
“We’ll have two cars per shift,” Kasiewicz said. “Midnights, it bothered me when there was only one guy out. Knowing there’s two is gonna make me feel a lot better. I’m excited about being back up to full staff.”
The department also has three part-time officers.
Concerning attracting employees to the fire department, “We have discussed this issue to extent and there is no clear path,” said Capt. Nick Cresanto.
There is a lack of interest among young people to enter public service, and those who do can make more money going to bigger departments, which are having trouble attracting candidates from their home territories.
“For a long time, we were kind of the farm league for Trumbull County,” Cresanto said. “Now, Trumbull County is the farm league for the rest of Ohio.”
Officials are discussing the pros and cons of hiring someone and paying them to get their paramedic and firefighter certifications. It takes about 18 months of training to become a paramedic, and three to six to become a firefighter, he said.
“It’s not an easy answer,” Cresanto said.
