Cincinnati City Council, not the city manager, would get the final say of who gets hired and fired as police chief and fire chief if former Vice Mayor Christopher Smitherman can get a charter amendment on the November ballot and passed by voters.
Smitherman last week submitted the proposed amendment to the city so it would go before the voters in November. He said he is working to get technical issues resolved and the ballot language approved before collecting signatures.
Smitherman said he has proposed the amendment in reaction to City Manager Sheryl Long’s firing of the city’s former fire chief and suspension of the police chief.
What would he charter amendment do?
If Smitherman’s amendment gets on the ballot and is passed by voters, the city manager would select a police chief candidate who would then go before City Council for confirmation.
Confirmation would require approval from at least seven of the nine council members. The council could also fire a police or fire chief with a vote of seven of the nine members.
Mayor calls the amendment ‘concerning’
Mayor Aftab Pureval, in a statement, expressed concerns about putting the decision of police chief in the hands of elected leaders instead of the city manager.
“We’ll review it like we do for any proposal, but at first glance, it seems concerning to make decisions around our city’s key public safety leadership more political,” Pureval said in the statement.
Smitherman said the decisions on the police chief and fire chief are already political. Requiring City Council to vote on it would make it more out in the open, he said.
“What’s more political than what we’re going through right now?” Smitherman said. “It will give people of Cincinnati more visibility on what’s happening. I don’t see how this is any less fair.”
Councilman Scotty Johnson calls amendment ‘reckless’
Councilman Scotty Johnson, a former Cincinnati Police officer, called the amendment “reckless.” He said a police chief answering to nine council members would be chaotic. He said most people on council “don’t have a clue what the Cincinnati Police chief or fire chief does.”
“We don’t need any more politics in our city,” Johnson said. “We’ve got enough. And we don’t need a police chief or a fire chief having to respond to nine or 10 different personalities.”
FOP will work to get signatures in support of the measure
The city manager declined comment through a spokeswoman.
Ken Kober, president of the Cincinnati Fraternal Order of Police, supports the amendment. Putting the authority on one unelected city manager to hire and fire for such an important position as police chief is not a good idea, Kober said. Kober said the FOP will help Smitherman get signatures to put the measure on the fall ballot.
“I think obviously what’s going on now is not working,” Kober said. “Making steps to change things is a fantastic idea.”
‘The taxpayers are the ones on the hook’
The current process wastes taxpayer money, Smitherman said, when it triggers legal battles and outside investigations.
Smitherman said he’s concerned about what the final costs will be for the city manager’s decisions related to Washington and Theetge.
“We’re going to lose, and we’re going to pay,” Smitherman said. “The taxpayers are the ones on the hook.”
Washington has sued the city for wrongful termination. Last year, a federal judge ruled the city and Long failed to give Washington due process before he was fired.
City has hired two law firms on Theetge matter
Meanwhile, Theetge has remained on paid leave since October, earning her $203,000 annual salary. The city has hired two law firms, one at a cost of “up to $49,000” and another up to $50,000, to handle the situation.
The city hired FBT Gibbons to conduct what ended up being a five-month investigation that resulted in a report in March, which concluded Theetge “has not been an effective leader.” The city in March then contracted with the firm Jackson Lewis to advise the city on how to proceed.
What’s next for the proposed charter amendment?
Smitherman said he will start collecting signatures once the city’s attorneys approve the charter amendment’s language.
The city rejected Smitherman’s petition on the grounds he didn’t use the proper form from the Secretary of State, according to a spokeswoman with the City Manager’s office and Smitherman’s attorney. Smitherman said the amendment language is too long to fit the form. Smitherman said his attorneys are working to resolve the issue.
Smitherman will need to collect about 6,900 signatures by Sept. 4 to qualify for the ballot. He said he hopes to have the signatures by early August to give them plenty of time.
Enquirer media partner FOX 19 contributed
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Proposed charter amendment would let council hire, fire police chief
Reporting by Scott Wartman, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
