Council adopts emergency ordinance to reclassify police sergeant pay; chief outlines training and supervision plans

Commercial Point Village Council voted to adopt an emergency ordinance amending the compensation structure of the police sergeant position to an hourly status, a change the council said is needed to restore supervisory rank and shift coverage. The measure, described in the meeting as Ordinance 2025‑O7, was moved forward under emergency language and adopted after the council waived additional readings; the recorded ayes included Ross, Ralph, Sarah, Eric, Dustin and Jay. Police Chief (name not specified) told council two sergeant positions will be targeted for second and third shift so the department has supervisory coverage overnight and in the evening. The chief said the positions are already budgeted and "it's already budgeted for it," and clarified the change is not intended to add officers but to reclassify two existing officers into sergeant roles. The chief outlined training and staffing details: officers recently completed firearms training, one officer attended first‑line supervisor training and the chief is considering expanding that training so officers better understand supervisory responsibilities. The chief also said the department is exploring additional training such as report writing and high‑speed pursuit training. During debate council and staff raised concerns about flex time, overtime and payroll tracking. Staff member Wendy explained payroll and policy constraints, saying the existing policy ties work to a 40‑hour week and that any flex or comp time needed to be carefully drafted to avoid creating a comp bank the payroll system cannot track. The chief said payroll already includes a padding for overtime—"Our overtime batch, I think she bats about 10%"—and asked that council avoid lock‑in language that would force the department to rely on flex time in ways that could leave shifts without supervision. Council action and votes: The council voted to waive readings and subsequently adopted the ordinance amending sergeant compensation as an emergency. The motion to waive and the adoption were seconded (waive second by Jay was recorded); roll calls recorded the adoption votes in favor from Ross, Ralph, Sarah, Eric, Dustin and Jay. No noes or abstentions were recorded in the transcript. Next steps: The chief will proceed with filling the reclassified positions according to department needs, with supervisors to manage overtime and flex time under clarified payroll policy and reporting to council if unanticipated budget impacts arise.