Alexander
Mayor Paul Mitchell has hired Robert Burnett as the city’s new interim chief of
police. Mitchell introduced Burnett to city council members and the public
attending the March 21 monthly council meeting.
Explaining
why Burnett is starting out on an interim basis Mitchell said, “We want to see
if he’s a good fit for the City of Alexander.”
Burnett is
no stranger to Alexander. He worked for the police department in 1997-98. In
1998 Burnett left for Saline County Drug Enforcement and was a member of a
multi-county drug task force. He served with the Shannon Hills Police Department
as a detective from 2004 to 2007. Burnett was also a police officer in Bauxite and
most recently worked for Arkansas Health Center in Haskell.
“I like it
out here,” Burnett told council members. “What I hope to bring (to the
department) is training.”
He’s been
reviewing employee files and advised the council the department is “shorthanded.”
Mitchell
said he is, “implementing a rotating schedule” so all officers, including the
chief, will work day and night shifts on a regular basis.
Along with
the hiring of Burnett Mayor Mitchell hired Nick Johnson as the city’s code
enforcement officer, building inspector, and police officer. Both Burnett and
Johnson worked at the Arkansas Health Center in Haskell. While his main duties
will be code enforcement Mitchell said this gives the city the flexibility
having an extra police officer available during the day when needed.
“He’s a very
experienced guy,” Burnett said describing Johnson. “He’s been in law
enforcement since 2005,” and is a certified police officer.
Alderman Dan
Church asked if Johnson had ever done code enforcement. Burnett said, “He has
not done code enforcement,” but, “I’m pretty confident he’ll catch on pretty
quick.”
In other business during the March 21
meeting;
In a five to three vote, the council
passed the “Organization of City Council 2016” (OCC); the version amended by
Alderwoman Andrea Bearden. The OCC was not on the agenda and Bearden made the
motion; allowing the issue to be discussed again after a failed vote in
February.
During the
February meeting motions to approve the Bearden version and then the version
provided by Mayor Paul Mitchell failed. Both versions of the OCC were presented
at the January meeting and then tabled after some discussion.
While there
are many differences between the two, the main sticking point has been over who
is permitted access to city hall office space and who can operate office
equipment. Mitchell removed the clause that was in the 2015 version of the OCC
(also provided by Bearden) which allows, “the same kind of access to city hall”
(and its equipment) “as the mayor.” The Bearden version for 2016 keeps the
current policy as-is.
Mitchell made
the change to match his policy that office equipment can only be operated by
office staff and anyone wanting inside city hall must either have an
appointment or be allowed inside by the person to whom they wish to speak.
Bearden contends aldermen should be allowed to operate equipment such as the
copier or fax machine in case they are handling city documents that shouldn’t
be seen by the average person.
The purpose
of the OCC, which is supposed to be established in January, sets the dates for
the regular monthly meetings and the policies to be used while conducting
meetings.
Alderman Dan
Church asked Bearden, “What does access to city hall have to do with the Organization
of the City Council?”
The silence
from Bearden was deafening.
Voting “Yes” were Louis Hobbs, Lonny Chapman, Andy Mullins, Farren
Wadley, and Bearden. Voting “No” were Stephanie Beck, Melissa Ratliff and Church.
During the two votes in February Wadley abstained.
Early in the meeting Mitchell said the
agenda item “Budget Resolution” wasn’t ready so it was skipped.
The next meeting of the Alexander City
Council will be Monday, April 18. Meetings are held at 6pm in the courtroom in
the City of Alexander Municipal Complex on Highway 111. The public is invited to
attend.
No comments:
Post a Comment