Gorden Forgey: New chief should be local . . .

Last week’s editorial about requiring the new Colfax police chief to live in or near town needs to be revisited.

The editorial stated that the new police chief should be required to live in the city or at least be within a certain distance of the city to be able to respond quickly to unforeseen circumstances.

It is a good idea, but it is not an idea ahead of its time.

The city had considered the idea way before the editorial came out.

According to Connie Ellis, secretary of the Civil Service board, the issue of residency requirements for new city employees was visited by the civil service board this year. The city employee manual also deals with the issue of having employees close at hand.

Although it is illegal to put in place certain residency requirements on employees, it is not illegal to require a response time limit for them.

That means new hires must be able to get to the city within a certain amount of time from their homes. They can live anywhere. It is just necessary for them to live where they can meet the response time requirement.

According to Ellis, the requirement is 15 minutes. This keeps new hires close to their jobs and close enough to get to town quickly in an emergency.

It just makes common sense to make sure the people responsible for the safety of the city’s residents can be at hand quickly when needed.

Those situations where employees have been allowed to live some distance from the city and outside the response time requirements are because of special situations and not general policy.

It is a good idea, and it is good for the community. It is what it should be, and it is what it has been for a while.

My apologies.

Gordon Forgey

Publisher