Greenwood new Board of Aldermen in like a lion
Posted by GSDispatch Editor in by Phil Kloster, GSD Online
Approximately one year ago, I wrote a column in which a new Greenwood BOA fired Ryan Hunt as one of their first major items of business. This year, a new BOA makes a larger roar dismissing three city employees today. Chief of Police John Bergman, Codes Enforcement Officer Corporal Paul White and Public Works employee Terry Jackson were all removed on Tuesday April 27th.
While newly elected Mayor Marvin Megee wouldn’t return a message left for him by the Dispatch, he and the rest of the BOA were very concerned with the city’s budget at Monday evening’s meeting and it was clear that $20,000 needed to be trimmed immediately if the city were to remain solvent past August 2010. The City hired a financial advisor who prepared financial reports which were distributed at last night’s meeting. The report corroborates the $20,000 shortfall in the City Budget.
To further exasperate the Police Department’s position, ticket violation revenue from Greenwood is at a pace to be $30,000 less than last year’s numbers, according to a source who wished to remain anonymous. So be prepared, as a reasonable assumption would be to expect to see an increase in traffic citations in the City as well.
Despite the revenue shortage, Chief Bergman read a report last night which indicated the City is being considered for a Federal Grant, which would have paid the salary and benefits of two officers for a period of three years if the City would agree to continue the positions a fourth year.
The new BOA had a closed orientation/workshop session on Saturday, April 24th for 7.5 hours. The agenda included Sunshine Law, procedural rules, Hancock Amendment, and Budgetary/ Financial Report and Recommendations. Then, after last night’s regularly scheduled open BOA meeting went into a closed session, the new board presumably made the decision to remove the three aforementioned employees.
Initial reaction to the news was anger from a number of influential community residents. Many residents felt the Chief managed the department well and the high profile cases in the past couple of years were brought under control and handled reasonably well.
It’s no secret that Mayor Megee has had some run-ins with the Greenwood Police Department in the past. However, apparent in emails obtained by the Dispatch, the disagreements between the two stem a little further. Within these emails, Megee cites “irregularities” in Greenwood PD procedures and Chief Bergman expressed concern for his job as far back as March of this year.
Additional information contained within the emails, revealed that Megee requested and was denied parts of a Sunshine request in which he requested “Names, addresses, and violations of all ordinance violation cases handled by Officer Paul White, between April 2, 2009 and March 2, 2010.” The Police Department was unable to provide the names and addresses to Megee but did tell him there were 169 such citations handled during the referenced time-frame.
Despite previous reports indicating otherwise, Chief Bergman has expected his dismissal and was surprised it didn’t happen the day after the new Board was sworn in a week ago.
Morale at the Greenwood Police Department could be at an all-time low. Corporal Dale Huffman announced his resignation last week, citing a desire to enjoy his previously earned retirement from the KCPD. He had been with Greenwood for four years according to a statement made by Chief Bergman last night. The Dispatch is aware of one officer who intends to completely vacate law enforcement due to his experiences in the Greenwood Police Department and knows of another officer who claims that he will not work for Captain Robert Leslie, who has been given the responsibilities of Chief of Police on an interim basis as of today.
Additionally, the Police Department facilities and equipment leave much to be desired. One officer told the Dispatch that the Public Works building is significantly better than the PD facilities and there are only two Public Works employees.
Furthermore, Police Department employees have difficulty taking their accrued time off, and when they reach their maximum allotted days, they are unable to further accrue time. The City won’t pay for earned time off and those maxed out employees are angry for good reason.
An informal poll of Greenwood Police personnel indicated that no member of the new BOA interviewed them about the morale problems in the basement of City Hall or asked them who should be considered for removal at all.
According to Darrell Grooms, Jackson County is unable and unwilling to cover Greenwood’s public safety personnel shortages. The city is incorporated which means they provide their own protection.
Clearly, immediate action was necessary in budget considerations, but was the correct course eliminating positions concerning the public safety of Greenwood? What other actions were considered?
Mayor Megee alluded to some surprises in his public statement last night. He asked for patience and that citizens contact him with questions before rushing to judgment or spreading rumors. The phone number he provided for such questions was 816-456-8080 and his new email at Greenwood City Hall is mlmegee@greenwoodmo.com.
John Bergman promised a statement but had not yet done so when this piece was submitted to be published. Aldermen Jim Van Acker and Chris Seagraves did not return messages left for them. The Dispatch does not have contact numbers on file for Al Reynolds or Nick Cover.
The Dispatch will continue to provide updates to this story as they are provided.
