Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
A matter of on-call pay for the Palouse Police department – which also covers Garfield – is in the hands of the city’s policy and procedures committee to study, after an extensive debate at the July 9 city council meeting.
At issue is pay for Chief Jerry Neumann and Officer Joel Anderson, the two officers remaining after Leighton Cox was terminated June 20. After Cox’s dismissal, it fell to Neumann and Anderson to cover the shifts until the return of Reserve Officer Terry Snead in late August.
Neumann had proposed an increase for overtime hours, before Anderson broke his wrist in an off-duty incident July 8.
The week before, the city council’s police, fire and safety committee, headed by councilman Rick Wekenman, met with both officers and Mayor Michael Echanove.
“It came out in the meeting that we really don’t have a defined policy on this,” Echanove said.
After Anderson had surgery on his wrist, he was expected to be available again, for light duty at least, late this week, Chief Neumann said.
Neumann proposes that he and Anderson be paid for hours in a work week when they are on-call after normal shifts.
Mayor Echanove stated at the July 9 city council meeting that, by state law, the city is exempt from that due to its size.
Neumann questions this, citing, in part, the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, which Echanove also referred to.
“We have to be consistent with federal and state law ... the current situation only benefits the employer,” Neumann said.
After further discussion at the council meeting, Echanove asked Councilman Mark Wilcomb, head of the policy and procedures committee, to look into the matter.
“What happens is we are really not a 24/7 department here. We can’t expect to act like one,” Echanove said. “It takes you five people if you really want to do that right. We make it work pretty good with three. With two people, the math simply doesn’t work.”
Wilcomb, Councilwoman Katie Cooper and City Administrator Kyle Dixon met with Neumann and Anderson Monday night.
“It was a very positive meeting,” said the chief. “I know that they’re looking into it, and they’ll probably do the right thing.”
Neumann and the police department have consulted an attorney.
“We’ve forced a discussion as to what’s fair,” Neumann said. “But we want to provide that service to our people. We pride ourselves on a 24/7 type of service. We’re not asking for anything out of line or that’s not fair.”
The city council meets again July 23.
What will happen then?
“We’re going back, at this point, to verifying facts and getting everybody’s perspective,” Wilcomb said, who works with Cooper and Tim Sievers on the policy and procedures committee. “We’ll see where the facts take us.”
The mayor indicated that what they find may be a solution.
“I’m looking for a proposal from the committee. Whatever fits our situation,” Echanove said. “A day in the life of a small-town mayor.”
Garth Meyer is a former Whitman County Gazette reporter.
Reader Comments(0)