WHO SELECTS THE CHIEF OF POLICE?
It appears many in the community have a difficult time understanding the process of selecting a chief of police. This process is spelled out in the Charter, something some might want to read before spouting off about who is to blame for the lack of a Chief. First, the St. Charles City Council does not pick the chief. They simply approve or disapprove a candidate. This holds true for the Mayor. The City Administrator is responsible for providing a name for the Mayor and the City Council approval. To date the only name presented to the Council has been Major Bob Lowery, they said yes. The only obstacle was the Mayor. Since that time a gentleman from the Kansas City suburbs was considered. He was willing to take the job until he spoke with the Mayor. During the conversation the Mayor allegedly told him certain officers were hands off. The next day he phoned the City Administrator and told him in a very professional manner to remove his name.
For those who like to point fingers, they should point them directly at the Mayor. York has someone on the police force that has some type of power over her and her husband and can block appointments to the chief’s job with just a phone call.
So let’s set the record straight, the Council has had only one name to consider and they said yes. The Mayor has had more than one and has yet to agree. The City Administrator has a candidate that appears less than qualified. See story on page one. With a budget of over $90 million and being the second largest city in the region, why would we accept someone who has been out of the job for 12 years? This paper has learned there are a number of more qualified candidates that have sent in applications once they understood Lowery was out of the running. Makes you wonder what we are passing up with Lowery when others refused to compete against him.
So the process is: City Administrator recommends, Mayor approves or disapproves, Council approves or disapproves. I just hope this City Administrator doesn’t try to make it look like the Council is standing in the way if he continues to push a less than stellar candidate to lead this leaderless police department. Let’s face it, if the Mayor would stop trying to protect the bad apples, the department would run with any Chief. As long as she allows the FOP and SCPOA the veto power, this City will never have a police department that runs well and one that has officers we can promote from within.
HOW MANY PEOPLE DOES IT TAKE TO RUN THE POLICE DEPARTMENT?
Remember the jokes about how many people does it take to do anything? This City has somewhat of a joke going on right now. How many people can we hire to run this police department? The answer is five. We have hired two acting chiefs, a consultant to help the hiring process, a consultant to the consultant to do background checks and a City Administrator that is making $148,000 per year. By the way he promised to have a Chief over three weeks ago but has not lived up to that promise. So what is the problem? Let me tell you what I believe. We have a City Administrator who chose his candidate for Chief over a month ago. He knew the Mayor had a candidate she was pushing and he knew Major Lowery was the favorite of the Council and many in the community. How do you get around that? Williams brings forward Lowery’s name without much passion and tells the Mayor he is doing this for a show and Williams really doesn’t want him. Next Williams floats the name of the Mayor’s choice because Williams knows the Council will refuse her son’s boss. The plan is working. Both have been eliminated. Now it is time to bring forward the name of the person from Peoria who Williams had originally mentioned when first hired. The City Administrator brings in two acting chiefs the Mayor recommends because he knows they will be less than aggressive and have cut a deal to protect the chosen few. These two have been lacking in leadership to hold any of the officers accountable for costing the tax payers over $50,000 to determine if letters filed with City stating stress where true. By the way the acting chief wants these letters to be swept under the carpet. This sweeping is becoming a tradition with the Mayor. Every problem is just ignored or covered up. Instead of taking these officers off the street, the City Administrator once again bows to the Mayor and leaves them to protect and serve even though they state they are having difficulty in dealing with the public and are suffering from emotional problems.
The new City Administrator’s plan appears to be working. The original person he wanted is now the front runner. Williams gave the Council and the Mayor a speech saying he can’t find anyone who wants to work here, setting the stage to hire a less than qualified candidate. This is his choice, as well as the choice of former police chief Dave King, who the City Administrator has hired as a consultant.
The Chief of Police job should not be a political football. It has been made one by our Mayor. The City Council stood stead fast behind the only name presented to them. The Mayor has proven she is willing to play politics with your safety and her pick for City Administrator believes the same.
This Council has allowed the Mayor to run the City in this manner. They are responsible for the problems because they are allowing her to violate the Charter and the laws of the City. This Council was elected to clean up the City and the malfeasance that has plagued York’s administration. York has proven to be someone who can get elected but once she is in office has no idea what to do. Her lack of character and honesty will haunt this City for a long time if this Council does not hold her responsible.
