Bigger staff on horizon for police
The City of Libby is in the process of replacing three police officers it lost and, with the help of federal stimulus fund grants, plans to hire two more to fill a full-time and a part-time position.
“We’re down to three folks” at the police department, Mayor Doug Roll said during Monday’s city council meeting.
The five-person police force lost its chief and two officers in practically the same week.
The force is surviving now with acting chief Jim Smith, officer Terry Watson and former reserve officer Tyeler Smith, who stepped in recently to work full-time. Chief Smith foresees changing Tyeler Smith’s employment status from temporary to permanent as soon as the police commission grants approval.
The city sent letters to 21 applicants from the Montana Law Enforcement Testing Consortium last week, Roll said, and now officials are waiting on responses.
The city learned last week that the federal government awarded the police department $146,000 in stimulus money to fund a full-time officer for three years on the condition that the city agree to pay the officer’s salary for a fourth year. Add that to a separate $19,000 stimulus grant for a one-year, part-time officer and the city of Libby should end up with six full-time officers and one part-time.
Smith says the city won’t get skimped on police patrols in the interim, but is hopeful at least one officer can be hired right away.
“We’re doing OK,” he said. “The shifts are covered. All three of us are going to be working 20-30 hours overtime until we get a fourth person on. We’ll then be OK as long as nobody gets sick or goes on vacation.”
Former chief of police, Clay Coker, resigned last week to pursue a law degree, one officer joined the U.S. Border Patrol and another left to train police forces in Afghanistan, Roll said.
In other news at Monday’s meeting:
• The council unanimously approved its two representatives to sit on the city/county health board. The council opted to reserve a permanent spot for the mayor in office, and voted councilmember Peggy Williams to serve for two years.
• The council unanimously voted to proceed with the necessary steps to becoming a Firewise Community with certain stipulations.
• In a 6-0 vote, the council added a “transitional duty” guideline to its personnel policy. It states that city employees who are injured on the job and are temporarily unable to perform normal job duties may engage in alternative tasks, if they are available.
• Fire chief Tom Wood reported six county fires for the month of July. He also reported no city fires last month, which he says is unprecedented during his time with the fire department.
• Gary Swenson of the Community Asbestos Memorial Project gave a brief presentation about his group’s intention to put up a memorial wall at Riverfront Park.