The Quitman City Council approved creating a retention plan for the police department last Thursday evening.

The department has been operating without a full staff for several months, and the retention plan is hoped to bring and keep officers.

The department lost several officers when former Chief Kelly Cole was elected sheriff, and several officers moved from the city department to the county. Chief John Farmer has been building the department back but needs a program to retain and entice officers to stay.

Mayor Randy Dunn said, “I was disappointed that the new sheriff took so many of our department officers to the sheriff’s department. I just wish he would have visited with us when he had requests to leave our department for his. I wish he would have at least communicated with us so we could have worked a schedule with us. I don’t blame the officers for wanting to go for more money and I don’t blame him. I just wish he would have communicated with us after telling us he would not do it.”

City Administrator Rodney Kieke said, “We do have some money from last year we can actually use for retention or performance bonuses. What we are proposing here is for people engaged in their job, even though somebody comes along and says we have this amount of dollars more per hour, if you are 90 days away from a bonus it would be a good reason to stay.”

Farmer said, “What I try to get them to understand is when the next sheriff gets in there things could change immediately for them. Here is what I am doing they are not doing over there (Wood County). For example, a boy come to me, filled out everything, I did the background and could not hire him. His driving record was bad and he had cost the city he worked for a lot of money and they had to let him go. They hired him over there (Wood County). I’m looking out for the city, that’s my job.” 

The mayor and council voiced approval for the job Farmer has done since taking over the department, especially through the transition since Cole left.

Sheriff Cole had no comment.

Numbers for the program are being worked out, but the council unanimously voted to go ahead and work out the details for the program.

In the only other action item on the agenda, the council approved to contractually engage with SAFEbuilt as the city’s plan review and inspection provider. The city can still use Bureau Veritas when necessary. Both companies have non-binding contracts with the city.

During the mayor’s comments, Dunn welcomed new alderman Todd Wright who replaces Susan Resnik who chose not to run for office. Dunn acknowledged Farmer for being awarded the “First Responder of the Year” award at the annual Quitman Chamber of Commerce banquet.