News
Task force put on hold?
By KEN MUNSON
Jul 21, 2008, 10:29

The Hopewell City Council is continuing to figure out how it wants to proceed with its planned task force to investigate the problems of retention and promotion in the police department, but a lot of the details are still up in the air, including whether it will actually be formed at all.
The task force was approved 4-3 at the City Council meeting on Tuesday, June 8. The task force's supporters on the council said it would help them get an outside look on the city's difficulties with turnover in the police department; its critics, which included former Hopewell PD members, called it an unnecessary intrusion.
However, Councilor Gerald Stokes, who first introduced the task force idea to the council, said at a work session on Wednesday that he was unaware that it was a project already being undertaken by the city manager. Stokes said he was willing to delay the task force for four months, the amount of time that City Manager Ed Daley said he needed to investigate the matter himself.
Despite Stokes' comments, he also said he had no interest in "dismembering" the task force, keeping the option open if there were no satisfactory results at the end of four months. At the work session, other council members pushed to continue the planning stages of the project.
However, the plan's critics on the council remained uncomfortable with it.
"Why are we having a task force for the police department and not having a task force for all our other departments?" asked Councilor Curtis Harris. "I don't want to deal with the Police Department because we have gotten so many black eyes working with the Police Department."
However, other city councilors noted that the task force could conceivably investigate other city departments with turnover issues, which in Hopewell include the fire department, the social services department and the school system, all of which are losing employees to the higher-paying Chesterfield County.
"If we look at only the big picture instead of different parts, it gets to be too much and you get nowhere," said Councilor Christina Bailey. "This seems very logical and a good first step."
There was also disagreement about who should be on the task force; Councilor Ken Emerson proposed that no former Hopewell police department employees should be on the task force, an idea which Bailey disagreed with.
Emerson also suggested that there might be legal issues with letting non-governmental Hopewell residents get involved in personnel issues. Arguing in favor the task force, Brenda Pelham stated that it would serve as an extension of the city staff.
Council can take no action at work sessions, meaning that any official action will likely not take place until the next council meeting on Tuesday, July 22.

© Hopewell News 2007