CINCINNATI -- Officials have a way out for some who are worried about issues at one of Cincinnati's police district headquarters, but councilmembers and the city manager agree that a permanent solution will not come quickly.
Complaints of mold, bed bugs and limited workspace at District 5 prompted an investigation by the city, and City Council members agreed to work toward a solution.
"I think, in a highly technical term, it's a dump," police union president Dan Hils said.
One temporary solution is to allow District 5 employees to be temporarily reassigned to another CPD district, particularly District 1, 2 or 4, City Manager Harry Black said.
City manager tells council committee that staff in police District 5 HQ can get reassigned b/c of building. @WCPO pic.twitter.com/Cu2RhPSYYo
— Jordan Burgess (@WCPOJordan) February 13, 2017
Black said "nearly three-quarters" of people working at District 5 aren't in the building during the day, rather, they're out doing police work.
"If any of those individuals want to be temporarily reassigned to another district that's fine by me," Black said.
Committee members agreed to work with a timeline of May 1 to have all employees moved out of District 5.
"At the end of the day that doesn't solve the bigger issue of where District 5 is going to be located," said Councilman Christopher Smitherman, head of the committee.
Black said a permanent solution will likely take between 20 and 24 months to achieve.
