The Martin Chronicles previously reported that council voted to amend the City’s Civil Service ordinance to provide Mayor Mike Martin with “emergency powers” to search for a replacement for the seventh officer that retired several weeks ago.
It has now been more than three weeks since Martin was given the authority to expedite the hiring process and we cannot confirm if a viable candidate has even been interviewed. The police department staff is now down 25% from its proper staffing level.
Martin has commented in open council that the first area he looked at when becoming mayor was the police department. The results speak for themselves.
This is a bad situation. The city is dealing with a sharp rise in burglaries and other crimes and the department is racking up a heavy amount of overtime hours. The residents are being protected by an under-manned, over-worked group of police officers.
The longer the seventh position remains open, the less likely it is that a top-tier candidate will be found and hired. We hope that isn’t the final result.
It may end up that the civil service commission will have to conduct the search for the police officer candidate after all. There will be recruiting and testing. That process will take several weeks.
If the city hires someone who isn’t currently a police officer, the new recruit will have to attend the Police Academy in Richmond and then spend months being guided by a Field Training Officer. It would be many months before the new officer is ready to patrol alone.
Martin knew the seventh officer was leaving for some time. Despite that knowledge he instructed the chairman of the commission not to begin the search for a replacement. This mess is inexcusable. And entirely Martin’s fault.
Have you seen the vehicles the police officers are driving? New vehicles should have been purchased this year and they were not. The entire force is driving vehicles that are aged and in deteriorating condition. Vehicle replacement is certainly not the reason for the “evaporating” $120,000 surplus.
As a councilman, Martin even once went record suggesting that the police officers purchase their own uniforms and other equipment. No other city in Northern Kentucky has an arrangement like that. Surely, solid candidates employed by other arrangements are aware of this. It is a close-knit community.
The problem is not with the Villa Hills Police Department. The remaining officers are a well-trained, committed group. It is not their professionalism or dedication to the community that is in question. They will continue to do their job under the most difficult circumstances.
Unfortunately, the past year has seen a steady, well-publicized assault on the police department by Mayor Martin and Councilman Mike Pope. No doubt officers from other agencies are well aware of the problems. It is the lack of both professionalism and dedication to the community exhibited by Martin and Pope that is being questioned by a growing number of Villa Hills’ residents.
All of this resulting from a deep, personal grudge held by the man sitting in the mayor's office.
