City taking steps to revise police chief hiring process

by Beth Kraft

Lengthy discussions by city leaders and community members alike concerning the best way to go about hiring the City of Mondovi’s next chief of police may lead to action by the City Council next month.

At the Council’s most recent meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 9, recommendations that stemmed from two Citizen Participation Committee meetings held last month were shared, resulting in some potential guidelines for a new police chief selection committee to follow going forward.

Based on community members’ opinions, the committee suggests the city look at hiring from within the current police department first prior to opening up an external search, taking years of experience with the Mondovi Police Department into consideration. The current chief of police should not be part of the 5-7 member hiring committee, the group said, recommending a list of local residents with law enforcement and human resources experience.

The Citizens Participation Committee also advised that all police chief candidates should possess a minimum of 7-10 years of law enforcement experience, be a certified law enforcement officer, and be subject to employment and background checks among other qualifications.

Requiring police chief candidates to possess a law enforcement degree was not listed as a suggested requirement by the committee. 

Whether or not the city’s new police chief needed such certification became a hotly-contested topic following the recommendation of current MPD officer Bonnie Bertrang for interim police chief by a hiring committee. That committee consisted of three members, one of them being retiring police chief Terry Pittman, per the current ordinance. The consensus afterward by city leaders and community members was that Pittman’s involvement in the process was a conflict of interest, prompting the Citizens Participation Committee to recommend amending the ordinance to bar the police chief from weighing in.

City administrator Dan Lauersdorf said there should be enough time for the city attorney to draft an amendment of the ordinance for approval by the Council at its next meeting, set for Jan. 13. The Council could also appoint a new police chief hiring committee at that time to move the process along once the ordinance is changed.

Mayor Treig Pronschinske said he planned to contact the potential hiring committee participants to gauge their interest in helping the city choose a new police chief.

Lauersdorf said the city could advertise the position as soon as the new committee were to set the official qualifications.

A multi-tiered selection process was also suggested by the Citizens Participation Committee beginning with two rounds of interviews to narrow down the candidates to the top 2-3. Those names would then be discussed by the mayor and Council with the mayor then making an appointment confirmed by a two-thirds vote by the Council—both carryovers from the city’s current police chief hiring ordinance.

Council moves to dismiss MFD charges from residents’ tax bill

Also that night, Mondovi residents Matt and Tessa Fedie appeared before the Council hoping to clear nearly $4,000 worth of fire department equipment charges that were added to last year’s tax bill.

A fire occurred at the Fedies’ home on W. Mill Street in July of 2013, after which Matt Fedie explained he received a bill for two damaged fire suits on top of a $500 charge for the fire run. Fedie’s insurance footed the bill for the fire run—the maximum amount allowed—but the $3,793 bill for two coats and pairs of pants the Mondovi Fire Department claimed were damaged by water-based paint was not covered.

Fedie said he researched the subject and couldn’t find any other instance where others had been responsible for items damaged in fires. He decided to dispute the bill and involved a lawyer, who agreed a homeowner is not responsible for damaged equipment and sent a letter to the city late last year.

No response was received from the city in exchange, and the charges were placed on the Fedies’ tax bill at the end of 2013, a routine the city typically follows each year in order to collect unpaid fire runs.

Lauersdorf said he did receive the letter and contacted the city attorney, who advised not to respond until litigation was initiated. Nothing further became of the matter until this past summer.

Fedie said he could no longer afford the attorney after a period of time, noting his frustration with City Hall for the lack of response.

Additionally, the outstanding bill has made it difficult for him to borrow money to repair his home, Fedie said, which is currently uninhabitable due to fire damage.

“We’re beyond just taking the bill away,” Fedie said, pointing to additional living expenses, attorney fees, and interest and penalties accrued from the unpaid charges on his tax bill.

Lauersdorf said equipment damage costs are “generally not added on” to fire run charges, except, for example, in the instance of a barn fire where a backhoe rental is necessary.

However, Fedie was asked to bring the issue before the Council back in June to have the charges forgiven, Lauersdorf pointed out, questioning why he didn’t arrange to come sooner.

“I don’t feel like I’m at fault for this taking so long,” said Fedie.

Sympathizing with the Fedies’ situation and agreeing the charges didn’t seem appropriate, the Council unanimously voted to work to dismiss the fire run charges from their tax bill and forgive the penalties and interest.

Once the charges are put on the tax roll, the bill goes to the county level, Lauersdorf explained, meaning the city will have to contact the county to discuss how to remove the fees.

“It’s unfortunate the issue drug on as long as it did,” commented Pronschinske.

In other business that night, the Council approved the following:

• pay Mondovi Police Chief Terry Pittman for four holidays and 25 vacation days based on anniversary date of Dec. 6. Payout is unrelated to a previous Council motion allowing Pittman to use up accrued vacation and comp time through the end of 2014.

• retirement for Barry Weber, a 35+ year employee of the City of Mondovi

• purchase new computers for City Hall and Mondovi Police Department to resolve software compatibility/backup issues at a total cost of $4,384

• new time sheet structure for salaried employees to better track comp time

• building maintenance agreement between City of Mondovi and Mondovi Area Historical Society

• resolution for short-term borrowing with United Bank for 2015 city operating expenses with a revolving line of credit of $510,000, fixed interest rate of 1.85 percent and no loan document fees

• operator licenses for Bruce A. Gray (SA), Ryan M. Jans (Mondovi Market), Tessa M. Fedie, Carrie J. Moyer and Amijane Barfknecht (Dollar General), contingent on final approval by MPD Chief Pittman

• Class “B” beer & liquor, soda/water and cigarette license for Local Inn, LLC (Omar O’Connell, agent) after business was granted a court order to seize the license previously held by Jennifer Williams and have license reissued