BY JIMMY LAWTONNorth Country This Week

OGDENSBURG – Ogdensburg City Council will hear a presentation from Ogdensburg City Police Chief Mark Kearns regarding staffing concerns to open the council meeting Monday.

The city has been short-handed in recent years due to deep cuts at the department, which were made to balance significant revenue decreases caused by a sales tax distribution formula change implemented by St. Lawrence County legislators.

The change eventually led the city to begin collecting its own sales tax, but that did not make up for the revenue losses.

In recent months, the city has been further short-handed due to an accidental shooting which led to the suspension of one officer and the injury of another.

Both remain on leave at this time.

Jessica Rivers, the officer charged with assault after she accidentally shot fellow officer Dan Hollister while cleaning her firearm at the station, is also facing disciplinary action from the city. Details regarding the specifics are not yet available.

The city is hoping to see more people take the civil service exam, the deadline of which was extended due to shortage of sign-ups. It’s set to be held Sept. 28. The fee for the exam has also been waived in hopes of driving up numbers.

The problem isn’t limited to Ogdensburg. St. Lawrence County Sheriff’s Department is also looking to fill multiple vacancies and is drawing from the same pool of applicants.

However, the issue is more dire in the city, which has fewer officers and has potential retirements on the horizon as well.

On Monday the city council is expected to discuss how best to address the issue.