AUSTINTOWN — The township will now prepare to say thank you and goodbye to another leader.

Police Chief Robert Gavalier, a 43-year veteran of the department, has presented the Board of Trustees with official notice that he will retire at the end of February. Trustees accepted the letter unanimously on Monday.

Township administrator Mark D’Apolito said he is grateful for Gavalier’s leadership.

“I wish him well. He has had a long and successful career. He’s been a mentor in the early part of my career, and he’s somebody I think has done a great job of public service in Austintown,” he said. “We’re all sad to see him go but there certainly will be new beginnings for him and Austintown.”

Gavalier was promoted to police chief from patrol division lieutenant in 2005, when he was already a 24-year veteran and an FOP leader. He has lived in Austintown all his life. Gavalier succeeded Gordon Ellis as chief. Bryan Kloss, a lieutenant at the time, served as interim police chief until Gavalier was appointed and stayed on with the department after, eventually being promoted to captain. He stayed in that position until his retirement about five years ago. Earlier this year, Gavalier tapped Tom Collins as the department’s new captain. Collins had effectively been serving in the role since Kloss’s retirement.

During his tenure, Gavalier has overseen the expansion of the Austintown Dispatch Center, which now handles emergency calls for a large portion of police and fire departments in Mahoning County.

He also collaborated with Boardman Township and the Mahoning County Sheriff’s Office to form a council of governments to oversee emergency communications in the county. This year, that council of governments has worked to move Mahoning County to the Multi-Agency Radio Communication System, known as MARCS – a statewide system that will allow easier communication with departments across the county and Ohio as well as state and federal agencies. It will also save the county money on maintenance fees because the state will take over the towers that serve the network, and users will save considerable money on their monthly radio fees.

During Gavalier’s time as chief, the department passed three levies – a 3.2-mill levy from 2006, a 2-mill levy from 2012, and a 3.2-mill levy from 2018. Collectively, those generate $5.6 million annually.

But in recent years, the department has had to fight to make the most of dwindling funds and rising costs. While ARP money sustained many local departments through COVID, inflation eventually caught up.

Still, Austintown Police Department did its best, obtaining grants including a Community Oriented Policing Services grant from the U.S. Department of Justice that allowed it to hire six new officers. This year, the department renewed the grant for $750,000 to maintain all six officers.

Over the summer, Gavalier worked with trustees and D’Apolito to cut about $200,000 from the department budget, making reductions to training programs and cruiser and equipment purchasing plans.

But in November voters rejected a 2.4-mill levy that would have raised another $2.26 million for the department. The department has eaten about $1 million of the general fund in 2024 and earlier this month, trustees said they will have to reduce support for other township services to ensure the police department can maintain the same level of service it provides.

Gavalier said the department will make additional training cuts and reduce staff through attrition as other officers leave or retire. Trustees said the levy will not be back on the ballot.

D’Apolito said the township will conduct a search for Gavalier’s replacement after the new year.

“A number of people have expressed interest but I have not received resumes and we will not consider anyone until we have resumes,” he said. “The first interview will be with me just to vet them, then we’ll bring a slate to the trustees. I want to first narrow the field so they don’t have too much to work from.”

Gavalier could not be reached for comment on Tuesday. But Trustee Bruce Shepas has worked with Gavalier for nearly two decades as a businessman, several as a zoning official, and as chairman of the July 4 parade for 10 years.

“Over the years, just as a businessman, owning Austintown Bounce, we go to all these fundraisers for local athletics or for charities, and I see Bob Gavalier there,” he said. “And that’s what I think is great and it’s what I hope the next chief does.”

He said Gavalier is always there to buy event tickets and raffle tickets for events and support those organizations.

“Then when I took over the parade for 10 years, when I needed support with security or participation, or blocking traffic along Raccoon Road, so we had a safe parade, he was always available and made his resources accessible to me,” Shepas said.

He said the same was true for his time on the Zoning Board of Appeals.

“Any time we had a question, before we approved anything, I’d reach out to the chief and he was always willing to give us his opinion,” he said. “And from the time I got sworn in, he was always right there. I think working with Bob has definitely been valuable. I value his knowledge and he was always willing to sit down with me or talk on the phone.”