Take two: Commission will meet again to pick top cop
MILTON — The Milton Police Commission wants a do-over to appoint an interim police chief after Chief Thomas Gilland announced his impending retirement.
The commission held a meeting Thursday after the city received a letter from Gilland announcing his intention to retire Jan. 7. At the meeting, the commission appointed former police Chief Terry Hawkins as interim chief until a new chief is found.
But the commission failed to notify the city and the public about the meeting.
That makes the meeting illegal, City Clerk/Treasurer Nancy Zastrow said. Wisconsin’s open meetings law requires government bodies to post agendas at least 24 hours in advance.
Typically, the police chief works with the department’s clerical staff to post police commission meeting notices, said Mike Haas, Milton city attorney. But the commission hasn’t met in more than a year, and the clerical employee who usually posted meetings resigned several months ago.
“It’s unfortunately one of those things that fell through the cracks, and we’ve talked to the police commission chair and the city staff to make sure that doesn’t happen again,” he said.
The city didn’t know about the meeting until the commission notified it of its intention to hire Hawkins as interim chief, Haas said.
Because Thursday’s meeting was invalid, the commission members will meet again at 7:30 a.m. Tuesday.
“I anticipate they’ll probably make the same decision,” Haas said.
If they do, the city council will discuss terms for Hawkins’ employment in closed session at its meeting Tuesday night, he said.
Hawkins resigned in January 2005 after 14 years as the city’s police chief. Gilland, a 29-year veteran of the department, was appointed to replace him later that year after serving as interim chief.
In that instance, the police commission hired a private firm to search for the chief’s replacement. The process took more than three months, Haas said, and five months passed before Gilland was appointed.
Gilland said he is resigning for personal reasons. He enjoyed the work and will miss his co-workers, he wrote in his letter to the city.
“I’ve had a blast,” he said.
Dec 18, 2007 at 3:36 p.m.
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Fire Captain 128 – Thanks for putting the election information out in another venue for the public! Hopefully it will have a measure of success getting people to run. Looks like we agree on many things - however I don’t think it’s very productive to label any person willing to run as one issue candidates. I view them as people willing to take on a big responsibility because they care about the direction Milton is heading. The brightest minds in Milton obviously are shying away from the responsibility. Remember the repercussions of the actions that City Officials make effect people living outside the city limits - like myself. Good luck in the spring.
Dec 18, 2007 at 2:53 p.m.
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Well starski7 are we going to see your name on a ballot? Boy I hope so its really not too hard to vote in Milton when all you get is the same people running everytime. Oh sure once in a while you get the one issue canidates who people see right through and are smart enough to not put in office. The council has 3 open seats up this spring and so far there are only 4 people that I am aware of that are either done ciculating thier papers or are doing so. You have until January 2nd to get the 20 or more signitures and fill out your papers to get on the ballot. The counicl meets twice a month and then whatever commitees the alderperson is on meet once a month. During budget time the council sometimes meets twice a week until the budget is done which takes about a month or two. But your right about one thing its very easy to sit and complain instead of doing something to make your city better.
Dec 18, 2007 at 12:47 p.m.
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Did the commission meet again today? Is the Gazette going to cover that? Or don't they care anymore what takes place at "legal" meetings, they only care to expose the "illegal" ones? C'mon....Report on this. What action was taken at the police commission meeting today? I guess we can only assume they came to the same decision?
Dec 18, 2007 at 9:55 a.m.
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Wake up citizens of Milton! Remember that BIG lawsuit a few months ago where citizens sued the City of Milton over this type of behavior? (They won, big time…)
Calling the council members is your civic responsibility, (not that I have much faith the current council members really care what you think) and you will have the satisfaction of knowing you tried to do something about the situation at hand. YOU being a presence at council meetings is crucial, (not that the current members of the council seem to care how many people stand up and protest some of their actions).
What will it take for some upstanding people to run for commission? Better yet, what does it take for you all to elect some upstanding people? You keep putting in the same “good old boys” so you’ll keep getting what you get! Old dogs don’t learn new tricks! Stand up and get involved! Run for council, run for mayor, and volunteer your time to sit on those boards for crying out loud.
Not getting involved due to second shift hours excuse doesn’t fly with me… anyone can volunteer one night (or day) a month (to sit on a board) to make the city a better place to live. What have you done today to make Milton a good place to live beyond complain? You’ve had plenty of wake up calls, so do something about it. Milton will get what it deserves, good or bad.
Dec 17, 2007 at 3:26 p.m.
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Well Teeber you can clean house in the spring elections but all the members of the police commission are appointed by the mayor. So that will get you no where. The city council and the city were not aware that this meeting was even going to take place. And this commission has not met in over a year. Thats still no excuse for not knowing the laws in place. Please call your council members and let them know of your distaste for this type of thing. Milton City Council meets tomorrow night at 7:30 pm so call your council members before then or go to the meeting. And this is not a council mistake this is a police commission mistake who like I said are appointed by the mayor.
Dec 15, 2007 at 10:48 p.m.
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MissSassyPants, If I were you, Do it! Run girl run! Don't worry bout having a 2nd shift job. You'll find time to attend. I praise you and hope you run for council!
Dec 15, 2007 at 8:54 p.m.
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Wow, Hawkins as interim?!!! How ridiculous is that?! He retired for cryin out loud and it was about time. There are more than a few solid candidates to act as interim within the current police department. This definitely smells like a "good ol' boy" deal to me too! I'm so tired of all this crud going on in Milton. I want to step up to the plate and run for city council myself but cannot due to working a 2nd shift job.
Dec 15, 2007 at 3:52 p.m.
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Is there no penalty for this obvious attempt to disregard the law and the rights of the citizens of Milton? Why does the commission do the hiring without confirmation by the city council and mayor? It seems to me that there should be some sort of oversight in this process to protect the best interests of the citizens of Milton. This looks like a "good ol' boy" deal to me.
Dec 15, 2007 at 1:40 p.m.
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The whole darn bunch of those commission members are crooked! Clean house this spring with elections! I'd be calling the council members and raising cane over this. Then, You'll see who is crooked and who's not.
Dec 15, 2007 at 8:07 a.m.
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Here's the scoop. I know a friend of a friend....ties to the City.....She says that Hawkins can't even carry his gun or drive a police car. What's up with that? Wasn't there something about them being short cops and so they hire him? She says the police council isn't even looking at current cops where there is somebody decent to take the job and move on. First the meeting is illegal and then this is who they pick? Call your council members people, they need to fix their mistakes.
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