Extended discussion between city officials concerning use of city-owned vehicles resulted in sending a proposed resolution back to the personnel handbook committee.
Alderman Bob Cottingham expressed concern that police officers, following the current rule prohibiting family members from riding in city-owned vehicles, presented a resolution allowing city officials to transport family members with department head approval.
"We trust them with our lives," Cottingham said. "If we can't trust them with this equipment...."
Cottingham told fellow council members that one police officer, who is a School Resource Officer, drives his personal vehicle into town, drops his children off at school before the doors are unlocked, then drives to the police station to pick up his work vehicle, before returning to the school. Cottingham expressed concern for the safety of the children. He said the officer should be allowed to take his children home and to school in the vehicle when he comes into work.
"Each city has a different take on this," Mayor Jackie Crabtree said, explaining that about 90 percent of the cities allow it. "When we first had an issue with it, we didn't think they were covered by insurance. The state police allow this. Other cities allow this. We've had this off and on several times in the past. We just need to get it in writing."
"This is a huge issue," Sandy Button, city clerk, said. "We're going to have to agree to disagree. It's been a huge issue that will cause huge problems. The Police Department has a manual that handles this differently. The people that put years of work into this, we worked very hard and it's works for all of us. It's all black and white. This is the first year we haven't had any issues.
"This doesn't work for me," she said, adding that when her children were young, she managed to get her children to school. "This has nothing to do with this point. Don't make it our responsibility."
"The reason this is so black and white, Bob, is you had a problem with it before," Button said.
"Trust me, I have been educated," Cottingham said. "I see the necessity for a lot of things I had not seen before."
Alderman Lance Sanders asked whether police officers drive their vehicles home. He was told some do.
"It's common sense," alderman Steve Guthrie said. "If an officer wants to take his car inside the city, it's a deterrent .. i think it's a great idea... take kids to school, as long as it's not out of his way."
"I honestly feel strongly we have such professionals in our employ in our city... I have confidence that our department heads and our mayor would take care of it," Cottingham said about potential abuse. "We need to show a little more confidence in our department heads."
The proposed resolution provides a department head to give person to city employees to transport immediate family members when attending conferences or meetings or when the transport is incidental to the employee's business. "Incidental personal uses of vehicles taken home, such as stops within a reasonable distance of route to and from work, are permitted," states the proposed ordinance.
"We've done it before and it didn't work," Nathan See, Street Department superintendent, said.
Police Chief Ryan Walker and Capt. Chris Olson spoke in favor of the proposal.
Alderman Ray Easley spoke in opposition to it.
"Every time those officers put on a uniform and put them in the car, they're risking the children's safety," Easley said. "We don't need kids in police cars."
Button said that special permission could be given for an individual, but the entire city personnel handbook should not be changed.
City attorney Shane Perry said the ordinance specifies that the personnel handbook applies to all city employees and supersedes even department personnel handbooks.
Button said the police personnel manual is different than the cities and that state law governs police officers.
"The Police Department is a different animal," Crabtree said. "Their rules are by a different set of laws. Their police car is their work area... so that's something you have to look at different than Nathan or Tony or Ken," he said referring to other city department heads. "I still have the final say."
Easley expressed concern about the resolution and the cost of having it prepared. "I think this should have been discussed at a City Council meeting before this was written up; this has cost us money.... that resolution cost $900 in city money to get that done."
Cottingham made a motion to vote on the resolution. Guthrie seconded the motion. Easley and Sanders voted against it. The mayor cast a "no" vote breaking the tie.
"We'll come back and look at the ordinance. It has everything lumped together. The Police Department and city manual need to be separated," Crabtree said, then gave permission for police officers to transport family members.
"I think I can override the employee manual," the mayor said. "As for right now, y'll can do what you've been doing."
"Go back and revisit the manual and pull that committee back together," he told city officials. "Get a plan."
General News on 04/18/2018