Winchester looks at contract for new police officers

PROTECTED CONTENT

If you’re a current subscriber, log in below. If you would like to subscribe, please click the subscribe tab above.

Lost your password?

Username and Password Help

Please enter your email and we will send you a password reset link.

← Back

By Carmen Ensinger

It is the same old story year after year – a small town police department finds a candidate who wants to work on the police force, they pay for this person’s training at the Police Academy, pay wages while they are at the academy and when they finally graduate from the Academy and begin work as a police officer in the city – a better offer comes along and they are gone.
This happened recently in Winchester after the city found a viable candidate.
After completing the Police Academy, the officer worked around two months and then handed in his notice saying he was going to South Jacksonville where he could earn more money.
Mayor Rex McIntire didn’t hide his anger.
“I think it is horrendous what happened,” he said. “Generally, it is the small towns who pay these guys to go to the Academy – someone who can’t really afford to pay them the bigger salaries like the cities can and then they turn around and leave after only two months.”
To combat this ever increasing problem, McIntire had City Attorney John Paul Coonrod draw up an ordinance directed at police officers. He noted that this ordinance is solely for police officers as all other city workers fall under the union agreement.
This ordinance requires a work commitment from newly hired police officers who have received certain training at the city’s expense.
More specifically, “any newly hired police officer for whom the city has paid the fees for training and resulting certification, shall incur a work commitment to the city. Such employees shall be obliged to continue in the employ of the city for a period of at least two years following the date of their basic police training certification.”
If the employee leaves the employment of the city before the required two years “the employee shall reimburse the city for its expense of such training and any associated room and board. If not paid, the city may recover such expense in a civil action.”