Replacing city employees remains council task

On almost every Lebanon City Council agenda is a request from city department heads for permission to fill a vacated job. Such requests have to be passed on two readings, leaving jobs, such as a police dispatcher, vacant until the council twice gives permission to fill an existing vacant job.

Councilor Tick Bryan has said he finds the process nonsensical at previous meetings, and he moved to have council consider lifting the hiring freeze to allow department heads 60 days to fill existing vacant jobs without coming to the council to streamline the process.

On almost every Lebanon City Council agenda is a request from city department heads for permission to fill a vacated job. Such requests have to be passed on two readings, leaving jobs, such as a police dispatcher, vacant until the council twice gives permission to fill an existing vacant job.

Councilor Tick Bryan has said he finds the process nonsensical at previous meetings, and he moved to have council consider lifting the hiring freeze to allow department heads 60 days to fill existing vacant jobs without coming to the council to streamline the process.

"These are vacant positions, not new ones," Bryan told the council Tuesday. "This is not a mass hiring."

Councilor Rob Cesternino said the jobs in question were already in the budget, and the mayor would still have to sign off on any hirings.

Councilor Lanny Jewell said he wasn't opposed to the idea in principle, but he did question the timing of the proposed change so close to "budget time."

"These positions are already in the budget," Bryan said. "I have full faith in the department heads. I feel like we don't need to be micromanaging them."

The council voted against the measure.

"We can look at the issue again after the budget is done," Craighead said, adding the department heads and the administration need to have the authority to "run this city."

Police Chief Scott Bowen said his department is probably the one most affected by the policy of requiring two readings to approve replacing employees.

"There is a lot of turnover in police work," he said. "We average a 14 percent-20 percent turnover rate. Officers burn out, retire, have disciplinary problems or move on to other departments. These are tough jobs."

He said when it comes to hiring the best officers, and hiring ones fresh out of training academies, time is sometimes of the essence.

"It can put us at a disadvantage when it comes to getting the best people. It slows down the hiring process," Bowen said. "There have been times, such as the last election and holidays, when council meetings were canceled, then it takes weeks to replace someone."

He agrees with Bryan that department heads were hired to do a job, but he also understands the chain of command.

"We have to follow the dictates of the city council," Bowen said.