Wednesday, May 25, 2005 | ||
Bad Links? | Fville mayor defends council actions in police controversyBy JOHN MUNFORD Fayetteville Mayor Ken Steele is defending the way the City Council handled the controversy that led to the retirement of its police chief and the resignation of his second-in-command last week. While he declined to divulge any of the allegations made by police officers in a closed-door meeting with City Manager Joe Morton, Steele said the important thing was that city residents could still depend on police answering 911 calls as expected despite the department losing its top two leaders. I feel confident that still is the case, Steele said, adding that the departments staff is meeting the needs of the community on a day-to-day basis. Steele added that Roberts and Ledbetter were not forced into their retirement and resignation. They opted to do what they did of their own accord, Steele said, adding that it was important for the city not to rush the situation, but instead act in a deliberate and thoughtful manner. There was some sentiment among council members that they should have gone into executive (closed) session Thursday night to discuss Roberts retirement and Ledbetters resignation, but council decided instead to handle the matter in open session, Steele said. The two documents, one for Roberts and one for Ledbetter, were unanimously approved by council without any discussion. Roberts retirement and Ledbetters resignation were negotiated by city staff, the mayor said. Steele was out of town but was made aware of the officers allegations through phone conversations with City Manager Joe Morton by phone. Steele said his first reaction to the allegations, which he would not detail, was that we needed to check into some things. There were some issues that some officers had, but thats about all Im going to say about them, Steele said. As for allowing Roberts and Ledbetter to stay on administrative leave, which will allow Ledbetter to be paid until Aug. 1 and Roberts to be paid until Aug. 31 so he can retire, Steele noted that they will remain on call for the city for anything needed relating to their jobs. That includes, Steele said, advice on police matters such as who the contact persons are for various other state agencies and information on any long-term projects they had been working on. Council met in closed session during a May 12 special called meeting, but Steele said he didnt think the discussion strayed from the pending litigation that could arise from an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission complaint from former police major Harold Simmons, who was demoted to school resource officer and later fired from his position. That executive session portion of the meeting was perfectly proper, Steele said, noting that council received information from various attorneys on the Simmons issue. The EEOC dictates the policies and procedures that must be followed in the case, Steele said. Steele noted that the city rarely goes into executive session, but if a vote is necessary it is done after council adjourns back into open session, per Georgia law, he said. A vote is rarely needed because the council relies on Morton to handle personnel matters administratively in his duties as city manager, Steele added. Steele said he is happy with the choice of Lt. Jeff Harris to take charge of the police department until an interim chief can be appointed. He noted that Harris was the highest ranking officer with the most experience. The city will work toward finding a permanent replacement eventually and head in a positive and proper direction, Steele added. Steele noted that Roberts has been talking for some time about retiring, and that Ledbetter had said when that time comes he planned on departing also. Steele added that he wished Roberts and Ledbetter well in their future endeavors. |
|
Copyright 2004-Fayette Publishing, Inc. |