In the last meeting for three sitting council members, Allison Carter, Mary Hays and Mayor Bobby Allen, the Geary City Council took a rather expected action and avoided another.
Hays asked to amend the minutes of a special meeting in March, held to discuss and eventually terminate the former Chief of Police, Cecil Harrall. The minutes included a severance package for Harrall, and Hays wanted to clarify the terms of the severance to a 40-hour work week for 90 days, rather than a straight 90-day pay period.
No action was taken to enter executive session for the council to discuss any other city employee who had been involved in inappropriate behavior on city property or during work hours.
The council did determine it should move ahead with advertising for a new top cop through a CLEET – Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training – advertising site. CLEET is the certification organ for Oklahoma law enforcement.
“We need to advertise,” council member Cory Hicks said. “We need a good one, one with honor and integrity. We need to take our time and be choosey.”
Acting chief of police Teryl Allen agreed, saying the fast fix wasn’t always the right solution.
The council also authorized its accountant, Chase Phillips of RS Meacham, to file its Municipal Budget Act paperwork for the current fiscal year. There has been no budget for the current year filed with the state in spite of the deadline of late August for filing the budget with the state auditor.
An estimate of needs was prepared but no one seemed able to explain where it was sent or why it had not been filed with the state auditor.
Phillips assured the council that the budget act paperwork would be filed, and the town would have no penalties or fees for its tardy appearance. He also said the budget act was a more appropriate form of budgeting for towns, as it lends itself to line-item breakdowns within the various departments. “But we will have to adjust what we have and start right away on fiscal year 24,” he noted.
The change in format seemed to suit council member Rocky Coleman. “I want the average Joe to be able to read and understand this every month,” he said. “I want it to be transparent. I mean, we raise rates and we’re still in the hole.”
Coleman was joined in his frustration by council member Cory Hicks. “Yes,” he said. “People pay their bills, and they want to know where the money goes.”
Phillips said there would be no issue with providing whatever breakdown the council wanted. “We want our services to be what the council wants them to be.”
Allen said the police department had made six case reports, 29 citations and 14 warrants collected. Coleman admonished Allen not to leave the police cars running outside the department all night, because it used additional fuel and added engine hours to the cars. Hicks suggested the police run more radar in town to slow down the semis coming through.
“We have been working the 25 (mile per hour zone) harder but we can do more, concentrate on the 25.”
“We have to slow those trucks down. We’re lucky today wasn’t a fatality,” Hicks said, referencing an accident near the north end of town involving a student and a commercial vehicle.
The council also asked that coaches of the summer baseball and softball teams should do a better job of turning off the ball field lights. The discussion took place when the upcoming contract with the school. The school has suggested it purchase the ball fields rather than rent them from the city, but the sale of the fields would negate the park agreement made many years ago.
The next Geary City Council meeting is set for May 11, when two new city council members and mayor Waylan Upchego will be sworn into office and begin their terms.