Hamilton City hires Bethany Tucker as police clerk, sets pay and opens application for one certified officer

The Hamilton City Council approved hiring Bethany Tucker for the vacant police clerk position and set her starting pay at $15.84 per hour, following a departmental recruitment and vetting process.

A department representative described following procedures for the vacancy after former police clerk Bailey McCarley left: application intake; reference checks; background investigations including criminal and driver history checks, internal reports, employee reference interviews and social media review; and chief interviews. The speaker said six to seven candidates were interviewed and that Bethany Tucker was selected from the pool.

Council moved and seconded to accept the recommendation to hire Tucker and later moved and seconded to set her pay at $15.84 per hour; the transcript records the motions and voice votes but does not include individual roll-call tallies.

Separately, the council authorized opening applications to fill one POST-certified police officer position (this is to fill an existing vacancy, not to create a new position). The application deadline announced in the meeting record is Nov. 25, 2025.

The transcript does not include a statement from Tucker herself nor a personnel packet in the record; the hiring action and pay rate appear in the council’s motion and vote sequence.