Keep a 3 Member Police Commission - NO to Charter Change
The Mayor and the City leaders who authored and submitted the Petition for the Police Charter Change want the number of Commissioners changed from three to five. They claim this will allow better representation of the community and it will afford the opportunity to have diversity with more women and minorities on the Board.
The Board of Aldermen recently took up another charter change to increase the Board of Health from a 3 to 5 member board. Board of Health members were displeased because the issue had not been addressed with the Board; their opinions were not sought. The same situation happened with this Police Commissioner issue – no communication. Largely voluntarily boards (their stipends are small) and agencies feel ambushed when these types of backdoor motions by seated Aldermen are brought forward. Add to that the Mayor leading a Petition drive to jam this through. Can you blame them?
The Board of Health members argued aggressively against this change to a 5 members board, citing that they work respectably, nimbly and efficiently together. They were getting their work done and wanted to be able to operate effectively given their largely voluntary time commitment. This pandemic has been an unprecedented issue for this Board.
The Board of Aldermen killed this motion and backed the wishes of the Board of Health to keep the board to three members. For reasons unknown, this is not the case with the police commission.
Let’s consider the downside of a five member Commission. A larger leadership board creates more work for those in the police department who communicate with the members and address their individual concerns. Certainly, outside of the regular board meetings, individual commissioners can gather information and address issues. Serving a larger Commission will be more time consuming for PD management and costly to taxpayers.
A board of three will work more effectively, keep the meeting moving along and, in general, make it easier to get the job done. Police Commissioners have a serious duty to information confidentiality, a smaller board with strong mutual respect will aid in upholding the information confidentiality required of the job.
Creating five seats to make room for diversity on the Board is not necessary. Determining a metric for the qualifications is of obvious importance with the most qualified people selected.
Keep the Police Commission a three member board and select qualified, diverse members for the Board. A smaller board is more efficient, will save taxpayer’s dollars and will continue to service the Police Department well. Vote No on the Charter Change.