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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Advertisement Email Story to a Friend April 18, 2006 Phoenix will be policed by sheriff, for now Council chambers were packed with residents hoping to learn the fate of their city’s police department and voicing management concerns By BUFFY POLLOCK for the Mail Tribune PHOENIX — Council members formally consented on Monday to handing off management of their police force temporarily to the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department. They also countered rumors that the Council wanted to do away with police protection to free up funding for a city administrator. While administration of the city’s police department has been in the hands of Sheriff Mike Winters since the March 28 arrest of former police chief Bob Kershaw, who was charged with evidence tampering in a case involving his son, the Council had not formally consented to the arrangement under state open meeting laws. Council chambers were filled with residents, law enforcement agents and city employees hoping to learn what would happen to the city police force. But Mayor Vicki Bear said the fate of the department would not be determined until an assessment by the Sheriff Winters’ department and an audit by a neutral third party. The council approved up to $9,000 for the independent audit. Bear read a prepared statement countering alleged rumors that the City Council had ulterior motives to dissolve the police department. "We are not going to make any determinations about the fate of the police department until all the facts are in," Bear said. Advertisement "From my point of view, I would like to see a police and fire department in our city� Is that feasible? I don’t know yet." Bear said the council would take any necessary action "to ensure the success of the city" and that decisions would be made "not by emotions but by best business practices." Sheriff Mike Winters estimated assessment of the department would take a few weeks. Winters said his department would be on hand to assist the city for as long as necessary, but said he did not expect the current scenario to be "a long-term thing." Despite the packed council chambers, just four residents spoke during a comment period with concerns more about the city’s need for better management. In related business, Bear said she would be meeting with League of Oregon Cities officials this week for guidance in the city’s police issues and need for a city administrator. Phoenix resident Robert Mumby said watching council meetings have convinced him of the city’s need for an administrator. Council member Murray LaHue said an administrator to oversee city business would be the "best thing the city could do" but LaHue and other council members were leery about how to fund such a position. Willa Johnson, director of the Phoenix Chamber of Commerce, who spoke as a citizen not as Chamber director, agreed the city would eventually need a city administrator, but hoped rumors about the Council planning to fund a city administrator at the expense of a police force were untrue. Johnson pointed out that, of 261 police responses over the past month, 31 were of a serious nature. "For a city our size I think that’s a pretty high percentage and I think we need a full-time police force," she said. Hiring a city administrator should have happened before the hiring of a police chief, Bear said. Over the past year, the city has been faced with a host of issues ranging from much-debated plans for a Home Depot store near the failing Fern Valley Road interchange to the need for a new city hall. The existing city hall has been sold for a new library and the city doesn’t have the funding for a replacement. City offices will be moved into temporary quarters in coming months. Most recently, business owners cried foul, demanding answers from the city when Department of Transportation officials showed potential maps that would widen Highway 99 through parts of downtown. Doing business without a city administrator, Bear said, was like "running a company without a CEO." Results of the pending police department audit will be released simultaneously to council members and the public, Bear said. Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2006 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback www.bingo.com Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker Custom Build Computers Discount Hotel Reservations online casinos news Ashley Furniture HomeStore Send Flowers Southern Oregon Loans California Casinos GMAT Prep Windermere Van Vleet Sports Equipment Online Casino Reviews Online Bingo Entertainment Guide Online Casino Fundraisers Sudoku Online Casinos Canada Online Pharmacy Advertisement s