Three Graham city council members resumed their lobbying campaign earlier this month, pressing city manager Megan Garner to prioritize the hiring of an internal candidate as the city’s next police chief.
They also stressed their preference for experience over an academic degree.
They were only somewhat relieved that what they thought was a hiring requirement for a master’s degree was, in fact, only for a bachelor’s degree.
Originally, in May, it was councilman Bobby Chin who wanted details on the manager’s plans for filling the police chief’s position. Among Chin’s concerns then were some reiterated earlier this month. At the May meeting, Chin started the discussion by saying it “sends a message” and undermines officer morale when none of “our internal candidates” is considered to be chief.
The issue was re-raised this month, at the council’s July 8 meeting, by council member Bonnie Whitaker, who used her “council comments” period at the end of the meeting to ask Garner for an update on the timeframe for the hiring process. Current police chief Kristy Cole Baker had announced her plan to retire September 1. [Note: since then, Baker has accelerated her departure to this Friday, August 1. See separate story this edition.]
Whitaker pressed in particular about the possibility of having a “hiring committee as we’ve had in the past, maybe with a city council member on it, or the mayor.”
In response to a previous public records request, the city provided an email from Whitaker in which she had asked Garner to include her on such a hiring committee for the police chief.
Garner said that she intended to use an “assessment center of experts” to assist in evaluating the candidates. Garner also told the council she was optimistic – “a decent chance” – that she would be able to hire a candidate before chief Baker’s retirement date (then expected to be September 1).
Talley also took issue with hiring police officers during the interim period before a new chief is hired. “I’m not keen on hiring replacements until a new chief is in place,” Talley said. Garner responded, “We hired as vacancies become available.”
Garner said the city “was not in a position to wait” for hiring front-line officers until a new chief were designated.
Talley also took issue with the fact that “all of a sudden, the qualification [for hiring] has changed.”
Garner responded that the council’s interest in influencing the selection of a chief “could pose some issues,” noting that department heads fall within the city manager’s purview.
“Ethically,” she added, “I don’t want to run afoul of what falls in my bucket, and I’m sure the city council doesn’t want to run afoul of what’s in your bucket.”
Garner added that city council influence on hiring “had the potential to muddy the water.”
Talley said it would be “deflating” to employees who had been faithful long-term employees not to be considered for a promotion, such as to become police chief. (Most of the recent police chiefs – certainly the past two, Baker and Jeff Prichard – have been promoted from within the Graham police department.)
Whitaker resumed her argument in favor of experience. “Experience can be valuable, if not more valuable, than having a pigskin on your wall.” She reiterated a point she had made during the May discussion: “I’ve known people with a master’s degree,” she said, “who I wouldn’t want to walk my dog.”
Whitaker, who had served in the military and other federal service, said “You work, you work, you work. You want to move up.”
“You need to be fair in giving those people a chance,” Whitaker said.
After about 23 minutes in which Whitaker and mayor Jennifer Talley alternated expressing their views on the preference to have an internal candidate awarded the position – and not to prefer an academic degree over practical experience or to change the requirements from what they’d been in the past – Alamance News publisher Tom Boney, Jr. raised concerns about the council’s attempts to browbeat Garner.
Boney noted that, during scandals in various municipal governments, councils always relied on the fact that they had no role in deciding how to discipline wayward employees.
Boney said he had heard repeatedly for 35 years various city councils express the view that they have responsibility for hiring only two city employees – the city manager and the city attorney.
A similar point was made by mayor pro tem Ricky Hall during the May discussion, although he didn’t weigh in on this month’s discussion.
“That,” Boney said, “is the sole extent of the council’s responsibility” in hiring. He emphasized that under state law, the “council-manager” style of governance stresses that the manager is the chief administrator over city government and responsible for all hiring decisions, other than that of the city attorney.
Boney said that lobbying Garner about how to fill the police chief vacancy was “inappropriate, unethical, and potentially illegal.”
He also challenged as “an inherent conflict of interest” the concept of having a council member to serve on a screening committee.
“You’re not supposed to have anything to do with personnel,” he said to the council, beyond deciding who should be the manager and the city attorney.
Boney pointed out that a previous council had hired Garner from “outside,” and that a previous city manager had chosen a fire chief from outside the department shortly before Garner’s arrival, a selection with which Talley said she disagreed.
Whitaker grew increasingly irritated with the publisher’s comments, telling him, emphatically, to “please sit down.”
“This is not a public hearing,” she said, adding, “I don’t really care what you think.”
Later, she addressed him again, saying, “Just stop,” before making a motion to adjourn.
With no second for adjournment (and with the agenda indicating that the council was due to move into a closed session on unrelated legal matters), the discussion continued with additional comments from Talley.
Talley said personnel hiring decisions were “not being applied evenly.”
“I don’t want to be constantly moving the goalposts,” Talley added.
Earlier this week, Garner posted the job qualifications for the new police chief she is seeking for Graham. Among them are: “The position requires graduation from an accredited college or university with a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice, Public or Business Administration, or a related field. Five (5) years of progressively responsible supervisory and administrative law enforcement experience; including three (3) years of experience as an Assistant Chief or equivalent position or five (5) years of experience as a Commander or equivalent position.”
The deadline for applications was set as August 15.
