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Council dispute centers on an independent police department assessment and transparency concerns
Summary
Council members sharply disagreed over an interim town manager's decision to pursue an independent operational review of the police department and whether the council had been appropriately informed; critics said last-minute agenda changes and consultant hires show poor transparency.
A dispute over transparency and the interim town manager’s decision to hire an independent consultant to assess the police department dominated early agenda amendments.
Council members who opposed removing the item from the agenda argued the council and public lacked supporting documents and time to review the proposed scope. “This just reeks of a lack of transparency,” Council member Wright said, challenging the timing and substance of the procurement and saying council members were hearing about the study for the first time at the dais. Supporters of the study said staff reported retention concerns and pointed to turnover as a reason to consider a third-party assessment.
Interim Town Manager Quazy Frazier told the council two weeks into his tenure he had heard staff concerns about officer retention — “for every two officers we hire, two leave” — and that staff had received a number of consultant applications (he reported 12 at the time) to undertake an assessment. Opponents said prior operational reports and multiple staffing studies exist and questioned the need for another consultant. The debate did not end in a formal policy decision on the assessment itself during this meeting but did result in motions and votes over agenda placement and related process questions.
