Promoting safety was not mentioned, but only money; and council authorized it. He then took back the papers, so they do not appear in the minutes.
They had previously bought used Ohio Highway Patrol cars, but later bought a second new cruiser with money they were bringing in.
I resigned as solicitor in 1993, partly because I disagreed with the operation of the police department and saw trouble coming.
In the case of Bowshier v. North Hampton, filed in 1996, a review of the file shows that Judge Gerald Lorig, at a pre-trial hearing, did get the village to replace 25-mph signs in about a one-block area downtown with the proper 35-mph signs.
It was also revealed that about 67 percent of the village’s budget in previous years was derived from traffic tickets.
He then dismissed the case procedurally on the basis of improper class action and statute of limitations (filed too late). On appeal, the 2nd District Court of Appeals affirmed on the same procedural basis but did not rule that 35 mph was the speed limit along Ohio 41 in the village.
Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) has notified the village repeatedly for years that the legal speed limit in the east end of the village from about 86 East Clark Street (Ohio 41) to the east limit is 50 mph under Ohio Revised Code (ORC) 4511.21 (B)(6) as outside an urban district as defined in ORC 4511.01(PP), and that ODOT would erect the 50 mph signs at no expense to the village if requested, but the village refuses (it’s a money-maker).
Two appellate courts have ruled this as being outside an urban district when only built up on one side of the road: Gahanna v. Amburgey, 10th District, and Kirtland Hills v. McGrath, 11th District.
ODOT also pointed out the correct way to get a speed reduction, but village police continue to ticket motorists for a 35-mph zone. One motorist was recently convicted in mayor’s court for 51 mph in this 50-mph zone. Councilman Keith Baldwin owes him a steak dinner.
It is well known that police visibility promotes safety, but North Hampton police hide so they can write more tickets and make more money. Almost any evening you can find a police car hiding at the doctor’s office (with permission?) between the large sign and the rail fence, and frequently at the east end on the edge of the road with no lights (a violation of ORC 4513.10).
How do you contact the village police? The only numbers listed in the government and emergency sections of the phone book for the village are the county sheriff and Pike Twp. fire department.
From that it is obvious that North Hampton police are there not to promote safety, but only to write tickets to make money.
Charles A. Balzer, a New Carlisle resident, is former village solicitor for the village of North Hampton.