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Holmboe's return draws crowd Faces praise, protests at Gold Hill meeting By SARA MURPHY GOLD HILL -- A standing-room crowd filled the City Council chambers Monday evening to welcome -- and protest -- Katie Holmboe's return as the city's chief of police. The City Council met with Holmboe and Teamsters Union representative Wayne Botta for the first time since an arbitrator ruled Holmboe was fired illegally, reinstating her position and awarding back pay and benefits for the past 33 months. Holmboe starts work today, sharing the mayor's office in City Hall until she can locate space for a police station. She plans to tackle administrative work for at least a month before beginning patrols. The City Council plans to cancel its contract with the Jackson County Sheriff's Department, which has provided the city's law enforcement since February. The contract allows either party to cancel with 30 days' notice. "I am here to complete the job I was hired 12 years ago to do," Holmboe said, outlining her goals for re-establishing the nearly defunct police department. Her priorities include rebuilding a reserve program, hiring additional officers with funds from the COPS grant and continuing her philosophy of community policing. "I look forward to the council supporting the police department and putting the past in the past and moving forward," Holmboe said. "I've been waiting for this welcome for a long time." Holmboe was fired in August 1997 amid allegations of a ticket-fixing scam and insubordination. The Teamsters Local 223, of which Holmboe is a member, fought her termination. An arbitrator ruled in favor of the union and reinstated Holmboe as police chief on March 22. City officials have not yet met with Holmboe and union representatives to negotiate the terms or amount of her back pay and benefits. The back pay alone will likely cost the city about $75,000. A handful of Holmboe's opposers attended Monday's meeting to protest her return. Former City Council member Christine Alford and several children wore T-shirts emblazoned "Katie repent" and "Wayne Botta can't defend you on Judgement Day," references to Holmboe's religious beliefs. "The biggest crime we've had in the past 12 years has been the police department," Alford said. The city department can't provide the same level of professionalism and 24-hour coverage as the sheriff's office, she said. Jim Rich, another protester, alleges Holmboe failed to investigate an incident three years ago in which his teenage son was assaulted. "All this stuff that sounds like it happened out of cartoon-land is true," Rich said. "She's not competent. She won on a technicality. She didn't win because she was right." Today's Edition : News | Sports | Business | Weather | Tempo | Classifieds Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA