Village Looks For New Chief on newstalkradiowhio.com

Village Looks For New Chief

06/04/2008 06:32:19

MECHANICSBURG, Ohio -- Mechanicsburg Village Council members will be talking a lot in the next few weeks about the direction of their police department.

At a meeting Monday, June 2, Mechanicsburg Mayor Greg Kimball said he had received more than 20 resumes to fill the police chief's position in the village.

Former Chief Tim Bostic retired earlier this year. Mark Randall, also from the Mechanicsburg department, has been serving as interim chief.

Kimball said he plans to review the applications and select about a dozen potential candidates to consider for the permanent post. He then will present the selected applications to Council members.

However, the village also has received a proposal from the Champaign County Sheriff's Office to take over enforcement duties for the village. Some Council members expressed concern about the cost and amount of coverage the village would potentially receive from the county, but Kimball said he believes it is a good time for the village to weigh all its options before moving forward on either case.

Also, the village has fired Zoning Director Steve Goddard. Council members Monday voted to eliminate his contract for the part-time position, which would have expired Dec. 31. Several Council members said they were not satisfied with the job he was doing. Some Council members said he was difficult to contact. A few also said they had fielded complaints from residents who felt his work was not being accomplished.

"I'm not after his head, but if someone's not doing the job, you don't keep him on," said Councilman Bill Farley.

Kimball said he will likely appoint an interim zoning inspector in the meantime.

(Article courtesy of www.springfieldnewssun.com)