Chief Justice Moyer and Justice Lanzinger dis-sented. (By the way, Lanzinger is up for elec-tion this year.)

Some mayors are upset with this law and the Youngstown mayor even spoke of a consti-tutional amendment to force residency restric-tions on public employ-ees. However, that is very unlikely to be suc-cessful.

We predict that there will not a mass exodus of police officers and firefighters from cities throughout Ohio but there will no longer be a double standard of al-lowing some but not all employees the right to live where they choose!

On June 10, 2009, the Ohio Supreme Court validated one of the Fra-ternal Order of Police’s long standing beliefs. The belief that police officers should be able to choose where they live, instead of allowing that choice to be made by employers was finally upheld by Ohio’s top court.

While this fight started over a decade ago, the path that led to this very important victory started with the leadership of the Ohio FOP and State Senator Tim Grendell, the author of Senate Bill 82 on March 1, 2005.

Senate Bill 82 said that employers could not im-pose stricter residency

requirements than an adjacent county rule. That bill passed both the House and Senate and was signed by Governor Taft on January 27, 2006.

A 5-2 decision by the Ohio Supreme Court was issued on June 10 and that decision stated that the law written by Senator Grendell was constitutional and did not violate the Home Rule provisions of the Ohio Constitution.

Justice Paul Pfiefer wrote the opinion for the majority in this case. He was joined by Justices Cupp, O’Donnell, O’Conner and Stratton.

FOP Prevails In Residency Case!

Ohio FOP E-Focus J U L Y 2 0 0 9

I look forward to seeing all of you at the 75th Annual State Conference in Columbus on July 25-28. More details

about the state conference are inside this issue!!!

P A G E 2

Did You make your reservations yet?

You should buy the pre-registration package!

75th Anniversary State Conference Our 75th Fraternal Or-der of Police of Ohio Conference will begin on Saturday, July 25 with registration beginning at 1:00 p.m. The FOP Board Executive Session will start at 2:00 p.m. and the FOP Auxiliary Reverse Raffle will begin at 6:30 p.m.

On Sunday, the Pre-Conference Board meet-ing will begin at 1:00 p.m., the FOP/OLC will have a board meeting at 3:00 p.m. and the BBQ will start at 5:30 p.m.

On Monday, opening ceremonies will begin at 9:00 a.m. and our busi-ness session will begin at

10:00 a.m. The annual awards banquet will start at 5:30 p.m.

On Tuesday, business will start again at 9:00 a.m. and usually con-cludes around noon. The post-conference board meeting will start 30 minutes after the close of business.

You can purchase tickets to the barbe-que and the banquet separately as well. The BBQ ticket is $35 and the banquet is $45.

The pre-registration package for this con-ference is $75 per per-son. That entitles you to a conference gift, ticket to the barbeque and ticket to the ban-quet.

The pre-registration pays for these items and also the hospital-ity, so you purchase the package if at all possible!

The Doubletree Hotel at 175 Hutchinson Avenue in Colum-bus will be the host hotel for the 75th Annual Conference. The room rates are $99.00 per night. Their phone number is 8—-222-8733.

If you have not made your reservations, please do so. Also, do not go outside the hotel for hotel accommodations be-cause the host lodge has signed contracts for this room block that need to be fulfilled.

O H I O F O P E - F O C U S

Have you bought your conference package for Long Beach

P A G E 3 J U L Y 2 0 0 9

The details for the conference package for the National Con-ference in Long Beach are posted at the Grand Lodge website, www.fop.net.

For $125, you can purchase event tickets for every night of the conference. Some of the highlights include a “Taste of Long Beach” where

local restaurants provide dif-ferent samples of their wares. “A tribute to law en-forcement featuring Michael Israel” is the following night and is promised to be some-thing spectacular. A BBQ in the park and a beach party on Wednesday wrap things up. The beach party features a great beach boys tribute band to give you that Califor-

nia feeling. You can order the events package online at www.fop.net.

There is a golf outing and other events as well, a FOP kids camp for your children while you are at the confer-ence and a great expo and merchandise available for all who attend.

Lodges elect delegates to the state conference. Some are elected by a vote of the membership and some smaller lodges name their delegates in the Constitution and By-laws...such as the delegates of Lodge X are the president and vice president. Each lodge automatically gets a delegate and additional delegates are awarded for every 50 members, or the greater portion thereof. For example, it takes 75 members to get to 2 delegates. You must be a delegate to have voice and vote during the business sessions at the conference. However, any member in good standing, can attend the conference and you are encour-aged to do so!

cussed. Taxes, incorpo-rating and other issues will be discussed by Treas-urer Penoza. The seminar should last about 2 hours.

Even if you are not at-

tending the conference, you should attend this seminar if you are in-volved in a local lodge leadership position. It may just save your lodge from getting into a lot of trouble!

National Treasurer Tom Penoza will be presenting a seminar aimed at all lodge leadership posi-tions . Beginning at 10:00 on Sunday, the financial procedures used at the lo-cal lodge level will be dis-

National Treasurer giving seminar at conference!

Who can attend a state conference?

P A G E 4

FOP and eBay Strike Deal on Sale of FOP Items

identifier, they acted swiftly and in good faith to make the changes we re-quested." The FOP adopted a resolution at its 58th National Biennial Con-ference in Louisville, Kentucky, calling for eBay to halt sales of items bearing the FOP insignia and other po-lice identifiers. In its initial contact with eBay, the FOP pointed out the public safety risks of allowing non-law enforcement per-sonnel to access such items, but the com-pany allowed the sales

to continue. Further dialogue with the online vendor led to a more productive en-gagement, culminating in an official change of policy which became effective on Friday, 5 June. "I am very pleased with both the outcome and with eBay's will-ingness to work di-rectly with us," Canter-bury said. "They really came through and demonstrated that they are a reliable and re-sponsible corporate citizen."

Chuck Canterbury, Na-tional President of the Fraternal Order of Po-lice, announced today that eBay, Inc. has fi-nally agreed to prohibit the sale of certain items bearing the FOP insignia. "Obviously, I am very pleased that were able to work with eBay offi-cials to change com-pany policy with re-spect to the sale of the FOP's items," Canter-bury said. "Once they understood and recog-nized the dangers offi-cers might face if they were deceived by an FOP badge or member

O H I O F O P E - F O C U S

Delegates to the 75th An-nual Conference will get this Limited Edition Chal-lenge Coin. Others can request a coin for a $10 donation to the CIRS Foun-dation. Send your request to be on the waiting list for a coin to: jmcdonald@fopohio.org

Cincinnati Lodge receives big win in Court of Appeals P A G E 5 J U L Y 2 0 0 9

Voters in Cincinnati voted to approve a charter amendment that allowed the city manager the right to select the Chief of Po-lice and Deputy Chiefs from outside the depart-ment. This was in violation of the contract between Cincinnati and Lodge 69 and Lodge 69 went to court. Unfortunately, the

Lodge lost in that court case.

However, the union pro-ceeded with an action to make sure that any new Deputy Chiefs would re-main in the union. Lodge 69 was successful in that action at SERB, with a mag-istrate, a local judge and now with the 1st District

Court of Appeals. The city can appeal to the Ohio Su-preme Court if it chooses.

Local FOP president Kathy Harrell called it a big win for the union. "The assis-tant chiefs deserve the same protection as the offi-cers they supervise," Harrell said.

Cincinnati may lay off up to 200 police officers at the be-ginning of next year.

Toledo has already laid off 75 police officers and some pro-ject that another 75 may be laid off there as well.

Hamilton County has already laid off, Mansfield and Richland County have already laid off, Marion County laid off all of its dispatchers. North Olm-sted laid off police officers. State workers have been forced into concessions and furlough days. Hiring freezes are in place almost every-where.

In almost very case, the em-ployer is asking for conces-sions. Concessions are an individual decision, best made locally. Members need to decide what is best for them and their brothers and sisters and the commu-nities they serve.

Layoffs are also a labor issue that your labor representa-tives need to be in on from the very beginning.

There are no silver bullet answers. Stimulus grants and other state and federal dollars are helping save some jobs across Ohio and we are thankful but what will happen next year?

News reports continue to come in to report that police officers across the state are being threatened with layoffs and many are actually being laid off.

In Columbus, the fate of al-most 300 officers rests on the outcome of a special election to raise the city income tax. If the tax increase fails, then police officers in our capitol city will be laid off.

If layoffs can happen in Co-lumbus, they can happen eve-rywhere. Columbus has (had?) a stable economy not based in manufacturing, as our other large cities have been.

Layoffs keep on coming!

FOP partners with TitanLynx to provide service Dear FOP Member,

Some of you may have heard of StreetLynx and PhotoAlert Drive, but chances are many of you have not. StreetLynx is a web based network for law enforcement use only that was specifically designed to aid in locating missing persons or persons of interest. It uses GPS technology to send out alerts along with a digital photo to the cell phones and e-mail addresses of registered recipients. It uses the GPS technology to send the alerts to those in a geographic area that is determined by the issuing agency. This means that if you live Cleve-land, you will not receive alerts about a toddler who wondered away from his home in Day-ton. Likewise if you live in Columbus, you may receive an alert about a teenager who ran away from Newark. And yes you were reading correctly, unlike Amber Alerts that can only be issued in cased of abduction, these alerts can be issued for runaways or those simply missing. This system can also be used to locate missing adults, like those with Alzheimer’s or dementia, who may wonder off. The program is free to all law enforcement agencies because of generous corporate sponsors.

PhotoAlert Drive is the companion to StreetLynx. It is a flash drive that is pre-

loaded with fill in the blank software that allows the owner to put the personal information and photos of their children or other at-risk individuals in one easy to access location. The PhotoAlert Drive is password protected and the forms contain all of the information law en-forcement needs for a missing persons report. It also allows an officer to upload the infor-mation directly to their department from any computer. This drastically reduces the time necessary to issue and alert.

You are may be wondering how this pertains to you. First, if you are a working offi-

cer, you can receive these alerts whether you are on or off duty. This can become a safety issue for you in the case of a person of interest. I know that most of you are not in a posi-tion to make decisions for your departments, but you can politely suggest that those in such positions look at the program. They can contact me at the State FOP Office 1-800-367-6524 and I will be glad to answer their questions or set up a presentation.

Next, you can help by purchasing a PhotoAlert Drive. If you are not in a situation to

use it personally, give it as a gift to someone who can use it. A portion of the price for each drive will come back to your Local Lodge if you use the promotional code. You can learn more about PhotoAlert at http://photoalert.net and more about StreetLynx at http://streetlynx.net Fraternally, Mike Watkins 6th District Trustee

O H I O F O P E - F O C U S

Vote “CINCINNATI” at the Long Beach Conference! P A G E 7 J U L Y 2 0 0 9

Queen City lodge #69 has been working extremely hard to earn the votes of the delegates at the upcoming conference to be held in Long Beach. They are in competition with Dallas, Texas and Virginia Beach, Virginia to host the 2013 conference.

While the leadership of

Lodge 69’s conference com-mittee has been travelling all over, they know that they need the support of Ohio’s delegation.

The case for Cincinnati is clear. After two confer-ences out west, it is much more affordable to have one in the Midwest. Ask your lodge treasurer how much

this conference is costing your lodge in airfare alone!

Affordability is not the only reason to vote for Cincinnati though. A great show is guaranteed due to all of the hard work being put in by the Brothers and Sisters of Lodge 69. Please vote Cin-cinnati, we need your sup-port!!!

Enforcement Expo will be held September 1 and 2 in Columbus, Ohio. The annual training conference and trade show will again highlight the best that law enforcement vendors have to offer. The newest and best equipment on the market will be on display for all of us to touch and experience. The training seminars will again be top notch. The complete schedule of seminars is listed at www.enforcementexpo.com BEST OF ALL, EVERYTHING CONTINUES TO BE FREE. FREE!!! Free parking, free admittance and free seminars. All Free!!! All you have to do is pre-register. See you there!!!

day when grant dollars are no longer there, we have started this golf outing to help us raise money for this charitable cause. So, if you are a golfer, can donate door prizes or hole sponsor-ships...please contact Dave

Conley at 1-800-FOP-OLCI or dconley@fopohio.org.

For a flyer, please visit www.fopohio.org and look in the events calendar for more information.

The FOP of Ohio offers peer counseling and pre-critical incident training to police officers across Ohio for free. We have provided this service through grant dollars and FOP dues. In order to prepare for the

WE NEED YOUR HELP

Enforcement Expo Sept 1—2

P A G E 8

OPERS Responds to Governor’s Proposals Ohio Public Employee Retirement System (OPERS) CEO Chris DeRose contacted members of the Ohio General Assembly on Wednesday about the governor's proposed cuts in the state's contribu-tions to employee pensions. The governor has proposed that contributions to state worker pensions be reduced from 14 to 8 percent in FY10-11, with the potential of reimbursing OPERS over a 10-year period. DeRose said in a letter, "This action will only make the problem worse, hurt members and retirees who have contributed to the system with the expectation they would have benefits, [and] increase costs to other government programs, and has ramifications far beyond the current fiscal emergency. Information provided by the governor's office estimated that this would save the state $256 million over the biennium. DeRose went on to outline the effect of the cuts as follows: Impact on retirees. "These cuts reduce the solvency of the fund that pays for all retiree health care. The result hurts current retirees and threatens the security of retirees for years to come. The ulti-mate result will be reductions in health care in the short run and the possible elimination of health care within 10 years. We believe this is short-sighted because if OPERS cannot provide basic health coverage for our retirees, the costs to other state and federal programs will increase. Last year, OPERS covered approximately $1.3 billion in costs for our retiree population." Impact to state workers. "It's important to remember that Ohio is a non-Social Security state, meaning that public employees are not eligible for Social Security and are required to pay 10 per-cent of their salary toward their OPERS retirement. In 2008, the average OPERS' pension was $20,522. Without OPERS many public employees would not have a pension." Impact on system. "Reducing contributions will immediately put OPERS outside the 30-year period required by state law to fund pensions. This is a prudent limit which should not be exceeded. Once exceeded, pension plans need to take action to get within the 30-year period. Early estimates are that by the end of 2012, our amortization period under this proposal will increase to 50 years. "Further, we do not believe that future Legislatures can be bound by the promise to repay these funds. We therefore, see this as a permanent reduction. "Even if the state would find a legal way to repay the lost funds with interest, we estimate a shortfall of $183 million after the loan was repaid. The shortfall at the end of the repayment period in 2022 would be even greater, depending on in-vestment returns." Fiscal Responsibility. "OPERS has a fiduciary responsibility to protect the pension system and its members. Lawsuits have been filed in other states, such as California and North Carolina, regarding the plan sponsor's failure to pay required contributions. In both cases, the court found the state was obligated to pay, and make up for lost investment income. Should this proposal become law we will need to consider taking similar action." The letter followed a news conference earlier in the day by leaders of the Ohio AFL-CIO, the Ohio Civil Service Employees Association (OCSEA), AFSCME Ohio Council 8, the Ohio Association of Public School Employees, AFSCME Retiree Chapter 1184, the Ohio Education Association, the Ohio Federation of Teachers, the Fraternal Order of Police of Ohio, the Ohio Association of Professional Fire Fighters, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) District 1199, the Alliance for Retired Americans, and the Ohio Public Employee Retirees, Inc. who also protested the governor's proposal. With assets of approximately $60 billion, OPERS is the largest state pension fund in Ohio and the 12th largest state pension system in the U.S. OPERS serves approximately 936,000 members and retirees.

P A G E 9

Ohio State FOP Auxiliary 2009 Reverse Raffle

Saturday July 25, 2009 Doubletree Hotel, Worthington, Ohio

Doors Open at 6:30 PM

GRAND PRIZE: $2,000.00

$80.00 includes 1 dinner and 1 raffle ticket, Cash Bar Additional Dinners may be purchased for $30.00 each

Buffet Dinner includes: Mixed Field Greens salad, Baby Shrimp & Wheatberry Orzo Salad,

Slow Roasted Sliced Beef Brisket with a Grilled Corn Barbeque Glaze, Potato Crusted Walleye with Lemon Herb Tartar,

Pan Seared Chicken Breast with Asparagus Coulis & Tomatoes, Cheesy Garlic Potato Au Gratin, Grilled Summer Squash with Baby Carrots,

An Assortment of Warm Rolls, Carmel Apple Pie or Old Fashioned Carrot Cake with Cinnamon Whipped Cream

Any questions call: Peggy 419-727-3830 or Susan 614-895-0668

________________________________________________________________________________________

TICKET ORDER FORM

Please complete the form and mail with your check to: Peggy Mohr, Auxiliary Vice President

2728 117th St. Toledo, OH 43611 (Checks made payable to Ohio State Auxiliary)

_________ticket(s) @ $80.00 ________ dinner(s) @ $30.00

Ticket number (s) requested ______________________________ (numbers will be held on a first come basis)

A confirmation will be e-mailed and/or mailed to you upon receipt of order and payment

Name____________________________________________ Address___________________________________________ Phone ( ) ____________E-Mail _____________________

All tickets can be picked up after 6:30 pm at the door.

J U L Y 2 0 0 9

July 25 FOP of Ohio Auxiliary Reverse Raffle Columbus

July 25-28 75th Annual State FOP Conference Columbus

July 26 Treasurer’s Seminar at Conference Columbus

August 3 3rd Annual CIRS Golf Outing Lockbourne

August 16-20 59th Biennial National FOP Conference Long Beach, CA

September 1-2 4th Annual Enforcement Expo Columbus

FOP of Ohio Calendar of Events

Lot’s of local lodges are having golf outings and other events, please visit www.fopohio.org for a listing of all that have been sent to the Ohio State Lodge.

See you at the conference!!!