Ugh.
Shreveport’s new mayor and the current council have been in office less than 9 months.
And now they have decisions to make that will define their public service.
The selection of Shreveport’s next police chief should be decided on Tues. Sept 24 at the council meeting. The council must approve, by a majority vote of 4, the next chief.
The appointment is for life. The chief can only be removed from office for "cause" as determined by civil service rules.
This decision is larger than all the controversial issues the mayor and the council have addressed.
Combined.
This includes the selection of the city’s insurance carrier, the garbage fee, attempted restrictions on contract approval, selection of the consent decree management oversight firm, mayoral board appointments, and the pending bond propositions. All rolled together these will not be as significant.
Of interest is the fact that four council members who have constantly voted for the mayor can now foil his selection. And the three members who have often opposed the mayor, may be left on the sidelines of decision-making again. Or they may have a role.
The council will question the mayor’s nomination at the Monday work session. And on Tuesday as well before the vote. A "NO’ vote does not require any explaination.
And if this is not enough drama, then consider the pending bond propositions.
Provisional police chief Ben Raymond is closely identified with the public safety/recreation proposition. He, like Shreveport fire chief Scott Wolverton, has endorsed the other 2 bond propositions, saying they were important to public safety.
Many citizens are saying that without Raymond as chief, those 2 propositions will fail if not all three. Widespread business support for the bond issue is probably dependent on the police chief appointment.
In last fall’s election, every candidate for mayor and city council had crime and public safety as top campaign priorities. Then mayor Ollie Tyler even admitted during her run off campaign that she made a mistake in her selection of police chief.
Feeling safe in one’s home is always a top priority for citizens. No matter how you slice it, the appointment of the next police chief will affect public concerns over safety.
That’s an issue that does not fade with time. And one that will be remembered by citizens grading the performance of the mayor and the council.
It’s a tough reality.
No doubt this is one of the hardest decisions the mayor will make in his term.
The same is true for council members.