AUSTINTOWN — As the township names a new police chief, some of the former chief’s non-police duties will need to be evaluated and perhaps reassigned.

One such duty will be the township’s representation on the Austintown-Boardman-Mahoning County Joint Communications District.

Also known as the Council of Governments, or COG, outgoing police Chief Robert Gavalier has sat on the board along with Boardman police Chief Todd Werth and Mahoning County Sheriff Jerry Greene since the COG’s founding in 2016. Greene delegated Chief Deputy William Cappabianca to represent the sheriff’s office on the board starting this year.

On Monday, shortly before announcing Lt. Valorie Delmont as the township’s new police chief, Austintown trustees voted unanimously to appoint fire Chief David Schertzer as Gavalier’s replacement on the board. Sschertzer is the first fire department executive to sit on the committee.

Trustee Chairman Bruce Shepas said it was a strategic decision that he and his colleagues believe will benefit the township and the COG.

“We currently serve 13 fire departments in our township’s dispatch center,” Shepas said. “We wanted to add some diversity — some new expertise — to the board. He will have maybe a little better insight with the fire departments and be able to communicate with them a bit better.”

The COG serves Canfield city police and the Cardinal Joint Fire District (which covers the city and township), Craig Beach police and fire, Ellsworth Fire Department, Goshen Township, North Jackson, Lowellville, Mahoning County Task Forces, Mill Creek MetroParks, Beaver Township, Campbell, Coitsville, Lake Milton, New Middletown, Poland Township and Poland Village police, Springfield police and fire, Struthers, Washingtonville, Poland’s Western Reserve Joint Fire District, Youngstown and Youngstown State University.

Schertzer said he appreciates the opportunity to serve the township and Mahoning County in a new way.

“I think it’s a good thing,” he said. “I look forward to working with Chief Werth and Chief (Deputy) Cappabianca, and helping to make good decisions about safety and security for the good of the county.”

Schertzer joins the board at a critical time, with some local and regional issues on the table.

Earlier this month, following consent from Austintown and Boardman trustees and Mahoning County Commissioners, the COG approved a plan to transition to the Multi-Agency Radio Communication System, known as MARCS.

The move will cost $1.3 million at the outset, but the communities on the COG’s communication network for first responders will pay much less in radio usage fees once the state of Ohio takes over maintenance of the towers that serve the dispatch centers.

Austintown and Boardman still will be responsible for the costs of their dispatch consoles, at approximately $120,000 each, but the Mahoning County commissioners have agreed to offset that cost.

In late January, trustees authorized Township Administrator Mark D’Apolito and Dispatch Supervisor Steve Sinn to reopen negotiations with the communities Austintown serves after D’Apolito revealed that the township’s emergency services are paying disproportionately more for dispatching than the other communities.

With the township facing large transfers out of the general fund to support the police department following the failure of a police levy in November, township officials said asking the other communities to pay a more equitable share of dispatching costs will help Austintown to maintain dispatching and offset its own costs.

Austintown already has been negotiating with all but Springfield and Beaver townships, whose contracts are locked in for the rest of this year, but will be renegotiated for 2026.

“When it comes time to do the contracts for the other communities, I think David will play a role in that,” Shepas said.