Wyoming hires two police officers and a building inspector; council debates cadet path and nepotism disclosure

The Wyoming City Council voted Jan. 7 to hire two police officers and a building inspector, approving three appointments that the chief and department managers said will restore the police department’s staffing and add an experienced building-inspection hire.

Council approved hiring Rebecca Peterson as a police officer with a tentative start date of Jan. 12, 2025, at the police department’s starting rate. Police Chief Bauer recommended Peterson based on her security work at the University of Minnesota and prior service to the city as a reserve and reserve cadet. The chief told council she had completed required education and screening and recommended a starting wage of $37.72 per hour for the position in the city’s police contract.

On the second vacancy, the council approved hiring Joseph Bang for a police officer position with a tentative Jan. 13, 2025 start date; the council’s motion made hiring contingent on his successful completion of the state certification exam scheduled the following day. Chief Bauer described Bang’s military service, deployment to Baghdad, prior work as a community-service officer in Blaine and law-enforcement coursework; staff said final certification testing remained the only outstanding item.

Council members discussed whether the department should hold an open slot for an internal cadet the department had previously expected to convert into a sworn officer when a retirement occurs. Member Yeager said she was uncomfortable hiring an extra officer without a written retirement notice; staff and other council members said the department has had long-running understaffing and that training timelines and retirements make staffing planning difficult. Staff said hires would not be fully independent officers until they complete about five months of full-time training and field training, putting independent patrol availability into the middle of the year.

For the building inspector position, the council approved hiring Vincent Schilling with a tentative start date of Jan. 27, 2025, at a recommended starting wage of $36.81 per hour. During discussion, Schilling disclosed that Vincent is his son and recused himself from discussion and the vote; the city attorney advised that Minnesota law permits the hire if the council member discloses the relationship and recuses. Council staff and the hiring manager said Vincent Schilling was the top candidate from six or seven interviews and had relevant certifications and internship experience.

All three hires were approved by council. The vote on the two police hires was recorded as unanimous following the stated contingencies; the building inspector hire passed with the hiring council member’s abstention recorded. The council directed staff to proceed with onboarding and to return with any follow-up documents as required by personnel policy.