'An obvious lack of communication'

Wednesday, 11 November 2009

Confusion, frustration dominate city council meeting BY SOPHIA ALDOUS S-E Staff Reporter     A recent Colville City Coun¬cil meeting was one of contro¬versy, as the Colville Civil Service Commission made its case against Mayor Dick Nichols taking the position of Chief of Police from com¬mission oversight.     Council members also vented their frustration at the lack of communication over the purpose of the Colville 2000 and Beyond Committee and Public Specialist Lori Is¬enberg’s role in the develop¬ment of the new airport pro¬ject.     “Why am I here?” ques¬tioned Council member Nancy Foll, who said she was not notified of the Colville 2000 developments by email or telephone. “This is really frustrating, because I want to be involved in what’s hap¬pening in our city, and I feel like I don’t have a clue.”     Civil Service Commission Chief Examiner/Secretary Sue Swim echoed that frustration when she asked why Civil Service was not invited to the city council meeting on Oct. 13, when the possibility of removing the chief of police position from the commis¬sion’s supervision was dis¬cussed.     “I see that there’s a lot of questions now that we could have answered then,” said Swim. “A lot of people don’t know who we (Civil Service Commission) are, or what we do, and we are happy to ex¬plain that to people, given the opportunity.”     The Colville Civil Service Commission (CCSC) is re¬sponsi¬ble for testing appli¬cants to the police department on the criteria of job positions. De¬pending on how many appli¬cants are seeking a par¬ticular position, the CCSC forms a list of candidates that are best suited for that job and presents the list to the Colville mayor. The mayor is then responsible for choosing the most quali¬fied applicant.     The possibility of cut¬ting the position entirely in order to help fill a budget shortfall, or to put the position under the authority of the mayor, are some of the choices the City of Colville faces.     The current chief, Damond Meshishnek, plans to retire in early in 2010. Civil Service keeps  accountability      According to CCS Commis¬sioner Jeff Holter, RCW 41.12 governs the commission.     “We perform testing and pre¬liminary interviews for ap¬plicants to the police depart¬ment, then provide the mayor with a list of the top five or the top 25 percent of the candi¬dates for a given position,” ex¬plained Holter. “My grandfa¬ther was a part of the Civil Service Commission, and he understood its importance in protecting the city and the people.”     Civil Service Commissioner Jim Northrup added to that, saying he was puzzled about why the city would consider going over the Civil Service Commission when it is there to protect the mayor, the po¬lice department and the com¬munity.     “Problems will come up if the mayor has complete con¬trol over the Chief of Police position,” said Northrup. “You may lose that accountability.”     According to CCS Commis¬sioner Bill McConnell, a situation could arise that a new mayor could release a chief of police every time there the city administration changes.     “So to say that what the civil service does is no differ¬ent than what an administra¬tive staff would do is some¬what incorrect,” said McCon¬nell.     Council member Doug Kyle voiced his concern that the is¬sue of a new police chief could become a political one if re¬moved from the CCSC.     “I’m curious as to what other cities do in this situa¬tion,” said Kyle.     Mayor Nichols said that out of 120 cities similar to Colville’s structure the city re¬searched in regards to the is¬sue, 92 of them exempt the police chief from civil service.     “I’m curious as to why the city should do this,” said Foll of removing the position from CCSC control.  “There have been no reasons presented as to why this would be a good idea.”     Holter reiterated that the Civil Service Commission assures the public that one person isn’t in charge of picking a candidate for a position in the police depart¬ment.     “It’s our duty to ensure that the best possible candidates are given to the mayor,” stated Holter. “We look for someone who can handle all aspects of police work, including admini¬stration.” Airport issue still flying high     The other topic of debate that evening focused around the Colville 2000 and Beyond Committee meeting held last month at city hall. The com¬mittee, which was formed last month, came together to dis¬cuss visionary goals for the community, including econ¬omy, education, healthcare and infrastructure, among other issues.     The committee is part of the public participa¬tion process as it relates to the airport. The process is being funded by a $10,000 Washington State Department of Transportation Aviation grant and $8,500 from the city’s current ex¬pense fund.     Public Specialist Lori Isen¬berg has been hired through Northwest Dynamics, a sub¬sidiary of Welch and Comer Associates, to facilitate the meetings.     While Kyle, who serves on the Colville 2000 and Beyond committee, felt that Isenberg performed her duties well, there were those present who felt “performance” might be a better description of events.     “’Visioning’ is all we did,” said Cecil McNinch, who is also a member of the com¬mittee. “The audience had questions that could have been answered then and there, but she (Isenberg) didn’t seem interested in making that happen. I feel that she was hired by the city to do a particular job, and I just hope that if there is an airport, it won’t be built on the aquifer and near these homes (Aladdin Road).” Need an update     Council member Foll be¬came visibly upset at what she regarded as “an obvious lack of communication” about Isenberg’s actual role in rela¬tion to the new airport project.     “Lori Isenberg was here in September and said she would come back to future city council meetings and pro¬vide information as to a plan about the issues surrounding the airport and how we could best communicate that to the public,” said Foll. “She has not come back. I haven’t heard a thing. Then all of a sudden she’s overseeing a vi¬sionary committee? I don’t get it.”     Foll stated it was not her in¬tention to attack the mayor or the council, but that there needed to be better interaction if she is to fulfill her duties as a council member.     “That’s hard to do when you’re left in the dark,” said Foll.

Last Updated ( Wednesday, 18 November 2009 )