Politics & Government

Five Things: City Council Meeting on Police Chief Proposal

A summary of council points from Monday's session.

The Darien City Council held a special meeting Monday night to discuss the latest proposal for restructuring the police chief role.

That proposal would promote one deputy to police chief, while City Administrator Bryon Vana would perform administrative duties that overlap with his current oversight of the police department.

During the nearly three-hour meeting, both residents and city officials shared their thoughts on the proposal.

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For a full recap, visit the of the meeting. Below are five points city officials made during the discussion:

1. Not much would change in the way the department functions, city officials said. City Administrator Bryon Vana argued that Darien’s department heads—Police Chief Robert Pavelchik and Municipal Services Director Dan Gombac—already report to him. The new proposal streamlines some of the redundancies between the administrative duties Vana and Pavelchik perform, Vana said.

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2. Under the most recent proposal, Vana said one deputy chief position would be eliminated. That’s how the plan saves money. During Monday’s meeting, Vana said promoting one deputy to chief and eliminating that empty position would save the city about $150,000 a year. Vana would not collect a police pension.

3. The proposal was conceived not only to save money but to improve communication between the police department and the city administration, Vana said. He believes the Metropolitan Alliance of Police newsletter perpetuates a belief that city officials are the police department’s enemies. "If you had a company and your employees had that mindset, you would do things differently," Vana said.  

4. If the city goes with this plan, Vana said either Deputy Chief John Cooper or Deputy Chief David Skala would be promoted to chief. If this proposal goes off the table, Mayor Kathleen Weaver said the city would likely launch a national search for a new chief. Ward 6 Alderman Sylvia McIvor said such a search could cost the city from $20,000 to $30,000. 

5. The decision on how to structure the new police chief’s role is still a work in progress. Immediately following Monday’s meeting, the city council went back into executive session to continue discussing the proposal. During the public meeting, Ward 4 Alderman Joerg Seifert encouraged everyone listening to voice their concerns so that the council can address them. McIvor will be holding a town hall meeting June 1 for residents in her ward. A new version of the proposal will be presented at or before the next city council meeting on June 6, Ward 3 Alderman John Poteraske said.


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