Gallatin mayor responds

by Mayor L.B. Davis

In an effort to keep the citizens of Gallatin informed and to address recent issues and speculation surrounding the city’s police department, I thought another article in my series would be helpful for all the citizens to know the facts. First off, I would like to thank the citizens who attended Monday night’s Board meeting. Their input and cooperation during the meeting was very much appreciated.

Recently, much misinformation has been spread. As we all know, every time a rumor is repeated it gains the appearance of truth.

Well, this is not the case. One such rumor was the board’s plans to abolish the police department. The total abolishment of the department itself has never been considered or an option for the board. However, personnel issues within the department have been in existence for some time. Public safety of our residents and businesses has been an important activity and this will continue to be the case. This public safety must be conducted in a professional manner which does not create a potential liability for the city as a whole.

As you may or may not be aware by now, the current personnel of the police department have been dismissed from their positions with the police department. The working environment became so strained that the public safety, which we all deserve, could not be guaranteed. The fact of the matter is that there were serious issues internally with the department that the public may not be fully and truthfully aware of. Unfortunately, personnel activities are such legal issues in today’s times that specifics cannot be provided. The action that was taken was necessary.

As noted above, there was never any intention of the city to eliminate the police department. In fact, the city has been engaged in an effort to hire a third officer for a period of time. This search will now be intensified even more to find qualified personnel. During the interim, a plan is in place to ensure coverage and provide for the public safety. For obvious reasons of safety, we will not provide details of this plan. A citizen can continue to call 911 for emergencies or 663-3580 for non-emergencies. In addition, the county sheriff and the Missouri State Highway Patrol have assured us that they will do everything they can to help out, given their resources. This situation will not be permanent. These agencies currently provide coverage and respond to law enforcement, emergency medical, and other services as needed and will continue to do so, just as they do for any other municipality or residence in the county.

The fact of the matter is that what began as an internal personnel issue ballooned into what we are dealing with now. The city has chosen to organize under the mayor-council-administrator form of government. In the past, and even still today, the police department has had more autonomy than any other department within the city. This autonomy includes the Chief developing his own staffing schedule as well as the internal operation of the department. The only “interference” by the board might be to question the decision-making process so that certain issues could be better understood. Under this form of government, the board advises and sets policy direction so that the administrator and department heads work together to implement. Apparently, questions that were asked were misconstrued as threats or challenges and have now resulted in misinformation, property damage, false accusations, and name-calling.

It is unfortunate that this whole thing turned into an adversarial situation. The reality of the situation is that there are no “sides” in this matter.

All of us — elected positions, staff, and citizens — are working for the best interests of Gallatin. With this situation behind us, I think it is important that we get back to the work and topics that need to be discussed. The goal of the board has been to get the city’s finances back in order so that we can address the issues and needs that have been neglected in recent years.

These include the extension of sanitary sewer to the unserved areas of the city, the upgrade of the wastewater treatment facilities, the development of a street repair program, the exploration of housing rehabilitation programs, insuring quality utility service to our customers, and addressing accessibility and other quality of life issues for all citizens. We think that these are important issues, and I know that the employees who continue to work for the city are committed and dedicated to meeting our goals while providing the best service in an efficient and professional manner.