MOUNT VERNON – Mount Vernon Police Chief Robert Morgan said although many of his officers were frustrated over a staffing shortage, they generally had good morale, but a councilmember disputed that claim during the Nov. 8 City Council meeting.
City Councilmember Samantha Scoles said that since the last council meeting, several officers called her and didn’t paint the same picture about morale that Morgan did.
“They're concerned with their own mental health and the mental health of other officers because of the number of hours that they're working. The overall stress in the department because you're down so many officers. They used words like that they're 'grouchy' and 'snappy' with each other, just because of the overall demeanor and the department,” she said.
Morgan acknowledged their frustration. One officer is out on family leave, another for military service and a third just reported for light duty as she recovers from being struck by a vehicle while on the job. All three are expected to be back on patrol within the next few weeks. Supervisors have been taking patrol shifts.
“As far as overall morale of the department, I have not heard those same words. I had a meeting last Monday to talk to my officers. I gave them a free rein to say whatever they wanted to say freely. Maybe they're just not telling the boss the same things are telling you,” he said.
Some officers are volunteering for 20 hours of overtime a week while others none or only a few hours, which he said was another source of frustration.
The lateral transfer policy recently approved by City Council has led to interviews and conditional offers planned for three officers from other jurisdictions, Morgan said. The training period for these new officers would be half that of the 14 weeks it takes for rookie officers.
Morgan also announced the hiring of the city’s first community advocate. Dan Jackman, a former law enforcement officer, joins the Police Department after having worked in Children's Services, at a children's group home and as a counselor in the Ohio prison system.
On Wednesday, he was scheduled to visit the Columbus Police Department.
“He's gonna ride down with their community advocate position to get an idea how they do things. And he’s already been out with the officers and he's making those relationships with the agencies we're going to serve,” Morgan said.
Engineering, Utilities salaries
City Council set salaries for the utilities director and assistant director and a newly created assistant city engineer’s position. But they put off a second engineering position until reviewing financial reports that will be prepared for setting next year’s city budget.
Council set the utilities director’s salary between $70,000 and $80,000, depending on qualifications. The assistant utilities director’s salary was set at a maximum of $65,000.
A consultant’s report proposed creating both an assistant city engineer and an engineering project manager in the Engineering Department.
“Those of you that have contacted me have said that you're in favor of moving forward with the assistant city engineer and that you would like to wait until you work through 2022 appropriations for the engineering project manager,” Scoles said.
Councilmembers all wanted to give the City Engineer more help but voted only to create the assistant city engineer at a salary between $70,000 and $80,000.
Councilmember Mike Hillier only would agree to adding any position if the city’s budget had a corresponding decrease in funds budgeted for contract engineering, which is where Auditor Terry Scott said the city had budgeted to spend up to $993,000 this fiscal year.
“Truly, all we're doing is reallocating resources from one line account to another line account," Scott said. "So you're not really increasing your expenditure, but you are increasing your workforce as a person and the positions that can produce for you."
