Butler City Council could recruit landlords in the battle to combat illegal drugs.

At Tuesday’s forum meeting, council discussed a motion that will appear on Thursday’s voting meeting agenda to begin a voluntary program in which landlords would be asked to add a clause to their leases saying they will let police enter leased properties if they suspect illegal activity.

Solicitor Tom Breth said a landlord could grant police access to their rental properties if police believe they have sufficient reasons to enter.

Councilman Michael Walter said police can access rental properties if they obtain search warrants.

But it takes time to obtain a search warrant and the suspected illegal activity might no longer exist in the time police use to secure a warrant, Breth replied.

Councilman Jeff Smith said the language landlords would add to leases would lower tenants expectations of privacy, but help police.

He said landlords he has talked to support the program.

Landlords who agree to participate would be asked to notify the city.

Currently landlords submit annual reports to the treasurer’s office about whether their rentals are occupied or vacant and the number of people over 18 years old living in their units.

In unrelated business, the city plans to consult with Butler Township about the salary for the yet-to-be hired fire chief who will oversee the city fire department and the township’s three volunteer departments.

Mayor Ben Smith said he thinks the salary should be equal to or slightly higher than the last chief’s salary of about $78,000.

The city hasn’t had a fire chief since Nick Ban retired in 2016.

Council included $35,000 in the budget for the chief’s salary based on hiring a chief sometime this year.

The city and township agreed to share a chief, who will be stationed in the city and work in the township on an as-needed basis.

Council will vote on the chief’s job description Thursday.

During the discussion, Councilman Corey Roche said the fire department applied for and received a federal grant to hire more firefighters.

Fire Department Capt. Jim Kaufman said the $622,500 Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response grant provides partial reimbursement for salaries for three years.

The city would receive reimbursement for 75 percent of the cost of wages and benefits for the first two years and 35 percent for the third year, Kaufman said. Total reimbursement would be $383,875. The city would have to provide a $238,625 match over the three years, he said.

Grant rules give council 30 days to accept or reject the money, he said.

Hiring four firefighters would allow the department to have five firefighters on each shift, which would improve safety and reduce overtime, Kaufman said.

If one of the five firefighters on a shift calls off sick, the other four could handle the shift without calling in another firefighter who would receive overtime pay, he said.