Montrose Council Approval of the Police Chief

Under Article VIII, Section 8 of the Montrose city charter, the city manager appoints or removes the police chief. The City Council takes no vote when the manager hires or dismisses a chief.

Ordinance 2729 rewrites Section 8 so the manager is responsible for the appointment and discharge of the chief, "subject to the approval of the City Council." The council's role is "expressly limited" to approving or disapproving those two decisions. Supervision, management, administration and operation of the Montrose Police Department, along with directing and evaluating the chief, remain the manager's "sole authority and responsibility." The rewritten section closes by stating that nothing in it "shall be construed to authorize" the council, or any one member, to direct, supervise, manage or interfere with the chief or the department's day-to-day operations.

Under a yes vote, the manager's hiring or dismissal of a chief needs council approval. A no vote leaves Section 8 as it stands, with the manager deciding alone.

The ordinance's recitals date the council's approval of the hiring and discharge of the police chief to a 1967 charter amendment, and its removal to a 2014 amendment.

At the first reading on August 18, Bob Nicholson, speaking against the ordinance, said he was on the council when the wording was removed in 2014 and cited concerns with unintended consequences. Alida Soileau, Dave Stockton and Kevin Dawson also spoke against it. Soileau said the police chief should be insulated from politics, Stockton questioned why the council would want to be involved with employment decisions, and Dawson cited concerns with conduct and cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. On September 1, at the second reading, three speakers opposed the ordinance and three supported it. Only Dave Frank and J. David Reed voted against adopting it that night.

Ordinance 2730, the companion question on the city clerk, makes the same change to Article VIII, Section 6. Each ordinance's Section 5 declares its measure passed on a majority of that measure's votes, so either can pass without the other.