An upcoming election was the focus of the Village of Turkey Creek’s monthly meeting on Thursday, as much of the council and mayor’s discussions centered around informing the voters of the item that will appear on the March 24, 2018 ballot.
The election is being held to determine whether the electorates of Turkey Creek want to continue having an elected chief of police or if they would like to change the position to an appointed/hired chief.
The decision to hold this election was prompted by the fact that the village began to face financial woes as it pertains to its police department.
Back in August of last year, the council had to move $35,000.00 of police department money from savings into the police department fund to cover police expenses.
As little revenue continues to stream in, Village Clerk Melissa Ferguson, following the village’s December meeting, said, “The police fund is about to be depleted.”
During the financial report, the clerk shared that there is currently $11,007.47 in the police department fund.
In what the mayor described as an effort to ensure that the voters have a clear understanding of what they are voting on, the council and mayor discussed potentially sending a letter out to all residents that would explain the ballot item.
During the meeting, he council and mayor reviewed a letter prepared by the village’s mayor, Heather Cloud. The council and mayor all agreed upon sending the letter to village residents, which is expected to be done closer to the election date in March.
The council then discussed the major differences between an elected and appointed chief under the Lawarson Act.
Some of the main differences discussed were the fact that an elected chief “cannot be easily removed from office,” while an appointed chief “can be removed from office with full support of the council and mayor.”
Another major point the council and mayor talked about was that an elected chief of police cannot be disciplined or terminated by the council for “lack of patrolling, financial responsibility in the department, lack of record keeping, lack of availability, improper handling of a matter, a bad attitude toward the public, and improper use of department vehicles.”
Whereas, with an appointed chief, the council and mayor would have the power to discipline the chief for those reasons.
If the chief position is changed to an appointed one, an individual could be chosen for the position that lives outside of the village limits. Currently, the chief must reside within the village.
If the chief position is changed, then the person selected for the position would have to be recommended by the mayor and approved by the council before he or she could be hired.
Image
ELIZABETH WEST