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Gold Hill settles with police chief By Melissa Martin GOLD HILL � It was a bittersweet moment for Gold Hill Police Chief Katie Holmboe Friday as she signed her settlement agreement with the city at her retirement party. The city has until July 10 to pay Holmboe $70,165 in back wages and benefits, plus $8,436 in Public Employee�s Retirement System (PERS) funds. The agreement also called for Holmboe�s retirement as chief, effective Friday. "I�m glad I had a chance to come back and finish what I started," Holmboe told the 40 people who showed up to say goodbye over cake and punch. "You�ve given me the courage to keep going. Thanks for your prayers and support." Gold Hill�s police chief since 1985, Holmboe was fired August 1997 on allegations of ticket fixing and insubordination. Her union, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, took her case to Circuit Court, the Employee Relations Board and arbitration. A Portland arbitrator in March ruled that the city violated Holmboe�s rights by not providing her with a written statement detailing the charges. He awarded Holmboe reinstatement and back wages. "I�ve learned much from Katie about perseverance, patience and forgiveness,�� said Wayne Botta, labor representative for Teamsters Union Local 223 in Medford. "At times, I was extremely frustrated with the process. Most of these cases are resolved in one year. This case took almost three.�� The city�s insurance pool, City County Insurance Company (CIS), agreed to pay part of the settlement as long as the city disbanded its police department, which CIS considered a liability. "�CIS offered to pay $40,000 of the Holmboe settlement, even though back wages � are excluded under our coverage agreement with the city," said Mark Rauch, CIS attorney. "That offer was made to the city in April and we are prepared to issue the check as soon as we are notified the police department has been disbanded and the Holmboe settlement has been finalized. That payment, by the way, will be in addition to almost $50,000 we have spent on legal fees defending the city�s 1997 termination of Mrs. Holmboe�s employment," Rauch said. The City Council voted 4-2 on June 12 to disband the Gold Hill Police Department. The city has been contracting with the Jackson County Sheriff�s Office for police coverage for the past year. olmboe�s daughters, Francine Brown and Nadine Allen, said they are looking forward to spending more time with their now-retired mom. So is her husband, Chuck Holmboe, who is also retired. "I am very proud of the way she held her head high through this whole thing,�� Nadine Allen said. "I admire that. She�s my greatest role model and my greatest fan." Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA