GOSHEN, Ohio — Goshen Township is notifying residents that Police Capt. Donald Hampton will retire through the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System at the end of the year and then seek to return to the same job starting Jan. 1, according to the township.
The township said the public notice is required under Ohio Revised Code 145.381, which governs public employees who retire from OPERS and then seek reemployment in their former position. Hampton’s retirement is effective Dec. 31, with reemployment proposed to begin Jan. 1, 2027. The township said the notice was issued more than 60 days in advance, as the law requires.
State law also requires a public meeting before any OPERS retire-rehire decision is finalized, according to the township. The Goshen Township Board of Trustees will hold that meeting at 6 p.m. Dec. 8 at the Goshen Township Administration Building, 6757 Goshen Road. The township said community members are welcome to attend and offer comments as part of the statutory process.
Hampton has spent nearly three decades in law enforcement. He joined the Goshen Township Police Department in 2001 as a line officer after entering public service in 1997, according to the department. He was promoted to night-shift road patrol supervisor in 2003, a post he held for 13 years before his promotion to captain in 2016, when he began serving as assistant chief of police.
Hampton holds a master’s degree in criminal justice administration and a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice with a minor in law, along with a human resources certification, the department said. He is a graduate of the Police Executive Leadership College and the Certified Law Enforcement Executive program, and he is certified by the Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy as both a police instructor and a master criminal investigator.
The retire-rehire decision ultimately rests with the township’s three-member Board of Trustees, currently chaired by Bob Hausermann, with Dan Hodges as vice chairperson and Lisa Allen as the third trustee. Laura Engled serves as the township’s fiscal officer.
The information contained in this story was obtained from Goshen Township.