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City approves cops grant; 31 officers to return

Thirty-one laid off Toledo Police officers will come back to work after the City of Toledo accepts $7.1 million in stimulus grant funds.
Posted by Katie Warchol - email

TOLEDO, OH (WTOL) -- Thirty-one laid off Toledo Police officers will come back to work after the City of Toledo accepts $7.1 million in stimulus grant funds.

The grant is part of the COPS Hiring Recovery Program, which awards government grants to economically troubled communities to keep or hire new law enforcement officials.

The final approval lies with Toledo City Council members, who are expected to approve the grant on Tuesday.

Mayor Carty Finkbeiner made the announcement at a press conference Saturday morning, stating the returning officers would join 29 others brought back from another law enforcement grant. Toledo Police Chief Mike Navarre will call officers with the most seniority today, informing them they're coming back to work. Those officers will return as soon as next week.

The grant isn't without stipulations: The city must maintain 564 officers for 4 years, or face losing the grant. They mayor says the city might have to explore cutbacks in other departments in order to keep that level of officers. He says a tax increase would alleviate the need for those types of cuts.

Even after today's news, 15 officers remain laid off. The mayor says he'll pursue other avenues of funding so those officers may also return.

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