Story originally printed in the Winona Daily News or online at www.winonadailynews.com
Published - Friday, March 28, 2008
Lewiston hears proposal for part-time police chief
LEWISTON, Minn. — As the Lewiston City Council searches to replace its police ranks, interim police chief Dan Walker proposed Wednesday the city hire him on as a part-time chief to help curb personnel costs and increase coverage.
Walker pitched himself for the police chief position to the council and audience at Wednesday night’s regular council meeting, saying he can increase patrols by 10 percent while cutting the personnel budget by 10 percent.
Walker recommended the council adopt an 88-hour weekly coverage plan “as a starting point,” which would mean he would work part-time on a 24-hour on-call basis if the city hired him. Walker, 43, is president of Rochester-based Premier Securities.
For the plan to work, Walker said a part-time officer would need to be hired to help cover day shifts with police officer Dave Kleinschmidt. The city hired the 27-year-old Winona native full time after he worked on an interim basis since February.
The coverage plan would allow for an additional 16 hours of patrols during days and 8 hours in the evenings over a week, Walker said. The city could decide later to up the coverage to 96 hours a week, Walker said, for a savings of four percent.
Lewiston does not have a “24/7” police department, Walker said, but they stay in constant communication with each other and Winona County law enforcement.
The 88-hour coverage plan has been in process for the past 60 days, Walker said. In that time, he said Lewiston police assisted the county four times and responded to 58 incidents including multiple felony investigations.
“It’s worked out fine,” Walker said. “We’ve been involved in every incident in the community. There was only one minor traffic accident and one family dispute that the county was the initial responder, but they did get us the information for follow up.”
Council members had little discussion over Walker’s presentation. They unanimously voted to advertise for the police chief position, making no stipulation whether Walker’s part-time police chief plan would be adopted or whether he was hired permanently.
The city fired its former police chief Mark Dungy in January and officer Robbie Floerke left for another position in St. Charles soon after. The city let go its part-time police officers after Walker and Kleinschmidt were hired interim.
Dungy has since filed suit against Lewiston alleging wrongful handling of his termination. No court date has been scheduled.
Contact reporter Amber Dulek at amber.dulek@lee.net or 507-453-3513.
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