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Dixon council authorizes two temporary over‑hire police positions to ease recruitment
Summary
Chief Robert Thompson told council two temporary 'over‑hire' positions will let the city hire immediate candidates while academy recruits occupy funded positions; the council authorized the two positions with a 24‑month review trigger after unanimous vote.
The Dixon City Council voted Nov. 19 to allow the city manager to authorize two temporary over‑hire police positions intended to improve recruitment flexibility.
Chief Robert Thompson described the approach as a way to avoid losing ready-to-start applicants while academy recruits occupy funded positions. He said the path from background to solo officer runs about a year and a half and explained the city previously maintained an over‑hire position pre‑COVID with limited use. Thompson said the plan includes an automatic review if either over‑hire position is occupied for 24 consecutive months, triggering HR/finance/city-manager review of necessity.
Council members asked for clarification about whether the positions were intended to be temporary; Chief Thompson confirmed they were. A public commenter urged shortening the review period from 24 months to 12 months to determine earlier whether the over‑hires remained necessary. After discussion the council moved, seconded and approved the authorization on a unanimous roll call.
What’s next: The city manager will implement the over‑hire authorizations and staff will apply the 24‑month review trigger if both positions remain filled for that period.
