Glasgow City council opens Police Chief position to outside candidates

The Glasgow City Council has voted to accept candidates for the position of police chief from both within and without the department. Glasgow Police Department Capt. Tyler Edwards currently is assigned the role of interim police chief, with Sgt. Robert Weber as assistant chief.

Edwards, formerly the assistant chief, late last month was appointed interim police chief upon the May 23 termination of former Chief Brien Gault. Gault had been with GPD for about 30-years. The reason or reasons for his termination have not been released to the public, and he has not commented on the matter.

"I think we have some great options within the department," Edwards said June 16 during a special city council meeting to discuss the permanent position. "I think it is just a matter of how we work that and how we get that out, that we are the best for that position and where we fall within that command structure. Sgt. Weber is in the assistant chief position right now and doing a great job. I think we deserve an opportunity, but also we have to do that the right way and that is your decision."

The City Council over the past several weeks has been mulling a decision either to hire a chief from within existing GPD ranks, or to open the position to candidates from outside the department. During their regular meeting Monday, they chose a hybrid approach, encouraging current GPD officers to apply for the position while advertising nationally for at least the next month. At the end of that time, the city will revisit the issue.

"It would be silly if we have several quality applications at that time and just sit here for another four weeks because we have it open," Glasgow Mayor Becky Erickson said during the special meeting. "How about we advertise the job for [one month], and at that time meet and review the applications, score them and at that point [decide] if we want to continue to advertise or go with the applications we have. This is going to be a group decision."

PROS AND CONS

During both the regular council meeting June 7, and during the special meeting, Edwards detailed benefits and disadvantages for hiring within GPD versus without.

Hiring a chief from outside the department can be beneficial in certain situations, he said.

"You can't say anybody played favorites. You might find somebody out there who is a super star. The problem with that right now is [candidates] for chief position are hard to find. People really don't want the position and you might have to pay more money to find a superstar out there. Another good positive of that is diversity. Someone outside the department might have better ideas, different perspectives on the way things should be, and may bring in some new thoughts."

An immediate disadvantage to an outside hire would be a lack of familiarity with the community, Edwards continued.

"We have seen some of that with of the recent hires we've had on the patrolman level. I think that possibly could continue if we hire for an outside chief position."

Timeliness remains a factor even should the council decide to hire from within, because department-wide decisions could change with someone new at the helm, Edwards said.

"It would be bad for the department if we decided, 'hey let's see how you do for three months, six months.' That is a con for the department. A chief has to make those decisions. We could start down one path right now and could switch with the new chief. Or it could be the exact opposite."

Such a move could cause metaphorical whiplash within the ranks, and be detrimental to morale.

"If you look historically at hiring outside chiefs, the morale usually goes down and you sometimes lose staff members because it is a different administration," Edwards said. "People within the department, they look forward to making it to the upper-management. If they see five years down the road they probably won't have the opportunity because [the city] hires outside, that may impact morale."

Retention of officers in Glasgow is a huge issue, Edwards said.

"I worked for the Army Corps of Engineers, and the Corps will tell you they have a horrible time hiring outside and getting people to stay. People don't like to come to Glasgow, Montana. That is known. Now, they have found ways to get people who are local into those positions, whether it includes extra training or money. In the end it saves them money."

Emery Brelje, a former GPD officer, chief of police and city judge, sat in on the special meeting to offer his advice.

"It is like buying a car," Brelje said. "You always want to get the best vehicle for your bucks. Looking for someone else out there is always worth doing. The chances of actually getting someone to come from outside this area are pretty remote. Not impossible. Worth a try. But, I wouldn't hold out a great hope for it, and I wouldn't delay - for a long period of time - with that."

Councilmember Doug Nistler, Ward 2, agreed there is an issues drawing qualified candidates to the area.

"It is very hard to keep somebody staying in Glasgow," he said. "You put in a lot money and time into somebody and get them here, and then their wife realizes, 'oh I did not know we were that remote.' So, you end up losing them after a year. You would have so much money tied into this person. So if you get someone from far away, they don't realize how remote we are and how hard winter is."

Edwards encouraged councilmembers to consider the experience of those already in Glasgow and established at GPD.

"There is a lot of experience within the department, and I would like to keep [the personnel] around and keep them moving. With Robert [Weber], you know exactly what you are getting. With me, you have a good idea. That is our job, to tell you what is good there. I don't want to do an interview process here and force myself upon you. I am open to the position being open. I think that is a good idea. I think Robert and I have interviewed well in the past and I encouraged him to apply for the [chief] position as well. We both encourage competition. We want to make sure the best person is [hired]."

Weber noted progress GPD has made with matters such as Community Oriented Policing since he and Edwards took command.

"One thing with working with Tyler over the years is that we do work together pretty well and know what to expect from each other," Weber said. "Look at how much we have accomplished in the few short weeks we have been in these positions."

Erickson noted Edwards and Weber have already been at work to build and foster partnerships with other law enforcement agencies in the area, including the Valley County Sheriff's Office.

"We have been on an island all by ourselves," she said. "The first thing they did was reach out to those different agencies to maintain relationships."

Nistler on June 17 said he was concerned if there are any unresolved personnel issues at GPD which would impact administration.

"For the most part, they are fine," Weber said. "We have people butting heads on certain issues. That is going to happen in every workplace. But, for the most part, especially in the last couple weeks, everybody seems happy to show up to work. There are always going to be issues, but as long your leadership positions are able to work together, they can handle those issues. The problem with Glasgow, and not just with city police, is [law enforcement] hasn't had a really great run in the last couple of years."

Edwards said he and Weber are problem solvers at heart, and have made inroads to address the public image and relationship with those they serve.

"I think we have tackled some of those long lasting problems and are trying to come up with solutions that are positive for our department. A lot of them happened in the last couple of weeks, and as Robert said, a lot of people have been showing up to work ready to rock."

Brelje is working directly with the city and the department about such issues, Erickson said.

GPD "also wants to be transparent, and Emery is looking into [it] to make sure everybody is on the same playing field," she said. "We are going to start with a clean slate here. So, if there are any issues brewing, they are being addressed. We need to prove to the public we are doing things right. Or, if we didn't, we need to say that."

Weber said, "in the end, we all want what's best for the city of Glasgow and this department. We will support your decision no matter what."

Having considered both Edward and Weber's comments, the majority of councilmembers decided "casting a wide net" for chief candidates is preferable, allowing for candidates from within to throw their hat into the ring for consideration.

Todd Young, former Ward 1 councilmember and current member of the community police board, said it "would be very beneficial to cast the net, whether it is Robert who ends up getting it, or Tyler who ends up getting it. I think the public needs to see, in my opinion, that we are trying. That comes down to Tyler saying he doesn't want [the position] to be given to him, which is great. I had to do the same thing for my job. I had to apply for it. I think that would prove to a lot of people who have issues with the department that we are trying."

Glasgow City Attorney, Anna Sullivan, agreed opening the position to all comers is best.

"I think the wider we can cast the net the better," she said. "As far as time frame, I was thinking probably a three-month time-frame. That would give people enough time to apply. I recommend we offer housing at Valley Court for four or five months as a means to incentivize that position with outside entities. One of the most difficult thing about moving to this area is finding adequate housing."

Councilmember Stan Ozark, Ward 1, said the council needs to do what is best for the city residents and the police department.

"We are making excuses here why it would not be a good idea, or why we should limit it. I think we have some very good applicants within the police department, but we also need to take a look. Maybe won't get any [applications], but maybe we will. We need to take a long, hard look at this department. I think we owe it the citizenry to see if there is anyone else out there to take the job."

The city will revisit the issue at the end of July to determine if there are any additional candidates worthy of consideration.

"We are just going to take it and try to get these positions filled as soon as possible because the police department has been on hold because of this," Erickson concluded Monday.