BY PAUL MITCHELL
North Country This Week

CANTON – Citing the health and wellness of the police officer and financial sensibility, the village board unanimously approved a proposal Wednesday night to fund a permanent sixth police officer position for the Canton Police Department.

The measure will also change an officers’ work shift from 8 to 12 hours which will allow for more personal time off while decreasing overtime expense to the village.

“This is important in terms of work and life balance for our officers and provide more time as needed,” said Trustee Anna Sorensen. “It’s an opportunity that benefits both the village and police department.”

Police Chief James Santimaw told board members his department is one of the few police departments in the area that operate on eight-hour shifts, and currently officers basically work every weekend. With 12-hour shifts in place, officers will now have every other weekend off.

“The department will be more diversified and make it a lot easier to get and keep good quality people,” Santimaw said.

Trustee Beth Larrabee fully supported the move, reiterating the importance of providing a safe working environment for village police officers.

“We want to make sure our officers are safe. Mental health and time off is important and the proposal for a 12-hour shift provides more flexibility,” she said. “I wholeheartedly support this. It’s ideal for them.”

It was also noted that with increased training requirement, a sixth officer in the work schedule will help decrease over time hours.

The department returned to a six-officer staff when it reabsorbed the school resource officer at Canton Central School a few years ago. A sergeant will be retiring in December prompting the need for the sixth permanent position.

“Anything we can do to make our agency more competitive is what this will do,” said Sorensen. “All the way around it’s a good move for the community.”

The department will now be staffed with a police chief, three sergeants and six officers.