Chillicothe Mayor Luke Feeney says Chillicothe Police will be getting help soon from a new full-time social worker to help them deal with calls they respond to involving people suffering from drug addiction and mental illness. Mayor Feeney says the position is being funded through a grant in conjunction with the Ross County Health District.
The mayor says the action is part of a plan that came from a committee appointed last summer to look at Chillicothe's "Use of Force and Community Policing" policies. Feeney says the committee overwhelmingly found that our police did not need cuts in resources, but instead needed additional funding to assist them in making the community safer.
On the issue of grading the city's handling of the COVID-19 Pandemic, the mayor was asked how the virus has impacted city employees. Chillicothe Mayor Luke Feeney says the program that reimburses private companies for employees furloughed or called off sick from COVID-19, doesn't work the same for public employees.
Mayor Feeney says they have been fortunate in that city employees have not had many cases of COVID-19, although some have been impacted.
Listen to our full length interview where Mayor Luke Feeney details each of these points- in our podcast link found below...