Clever Mayor Eric Beaudoin and the members of the Clever City Board of Aldermen met with members of the community at the Clever City Hall on Tuesday, May 19, to discuss the proposed partnership between the city and the Christian County Sheriff’s Office, where the sheriff’s office would provide law enforcement for the city.
Facebook post source of controversy:
On May 11, a message from Beaudoin and the board was posted on the city’s Facebook page which many took to mean that the Clever City Police Department was being dissolved. The post read as such:
“The board is excited to announce that we will be expanding our partnership with the Christian County Sheriff’s Office this Summer. The Sheriff’s Office will be providing 24/7 law enforcement coverage and patrol for the City of Clever, essentially serving in place of a police department. The Board of Aldermen and the Mayor would like to invite all members of the community to a town hall meeting on Tuesday, May 19, at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall to discuss our new law enforcement relationship. Sheriff Cole and the City Council will be available to answer any questions you may have as we enter this partnership with Christian County. We hope to see you there!”
The message was later amended to state that a final decision had not been made.
At the opening of the meeting, Beaudoin took responsibility and apologized for any confusion created by the posting.
“I know that the wording of this announcement caused a lot of confusion,” he said. “And for that, I do take full responsibility. I'm the one who wrote the announcement. And so, I do know in hindsight, I should have worded that better to not cause confusion and to clear things up. At this time, we have not signed a contract with Christian County Sheriff's Office. We are still in discussions of what this contract would look like and what that relationship could be.”
Beaudoin’s words did little to ease the atmosphere in the room, and throughout the meeting, people could be heard shouting for an election to recall him and the board.
Hard questions asked:
Eleven people signed up to speak at the meeting. Among them was Amy Schissler. She asked, “What's the projected annual cost of the county taking over compared to the current operating cost of our own police department?”
“Our current police department’s annual budget is $734,000 for the year,” Beaudoin replied. “That includes salaries, equipment expenses, benefits, insurance, all of that. So, the contract that is on the table for discussion with Christian County is very close to that number as well.”
Schissler asked what the city would be paying the CCSO according to the contract; Beaudoin replied that the amount would be “roughly $700,000.”
Schissler also asked if the city had “a roadmap for one, five, and 10 years planned” if the city were to move forward with the contract; Beaudoin replied that the contract would be for two-and-a-half years, with a required 365 days-notice for it to be terminated.
“Obviously, I can't predict what could happen in that relationship with the Christian County Sheriff's office,” Beaudoin added, “but if we were to enter into a contract with them, I can really only speculate as to what would cause us to exit that contract.”
Schissler had one final question.
“Hypothetically, this contract goes into play, but you don't have roadmaps for two, for six years down the road, and we need a new PD, how much is that going to cost the city?” she asked.
Beaudoin said that the board was still figuring out, but acknowledged that the cost to form a new police department would be “significant”.
Also speaking was Bridgett Young, who cited several figures she’d found while researching the Clever PD’s budget since 2021, also mentioning that the city’s sales tax revenue had increased by 1,000 percent. Young stated that the city had increased the amount budgeted for uniforms had increased by 150 percent, professional fees by 733 percent, office supplies by 300 percent, vehicle gas by 108 percent, and supplies expenses by 900 percent, among several other figures. She then contrasted this with the increase in the officer’s wages.
“Our officers’ pay, who have worked to protect us round the clock, their salaries have been projected to increase 15 percent,” she said, prompting several reactions from those in the meeting room.
“I would think that we could sharpen the pencil and look at this budget closer and get some more money to our officers,” Young added, drawing applause from the others in the room.
Call for civility:
In contrast with the anger of many who spoke at the meeting, Linda Eutsler called for civility.
“I’m not for the police department to dissolve,” she said, “but keep in mind, these people up here live in Clever, too. They're having to put up with whatever the issues are. Don't attack them. They're looking at other resources. That doesn't mean that's the best thing for our city right now, but it might be in the future.”
Continuing, she said, “I know Eric; I know him to be an honest man, and I think he wants the best for this city, because he's not doing this for his help, I can guarantee you. And none of these people up here are. They're not getting paid for this. They're volunteering their time, and let's give them the respect that they deserve, but at the same time, get our points across to you what we want. But let's do it with kindness and grace and respect and professionalism.”
Residents express thoughts about meeting, board:
After the meeting, Eutsler stated she felt Beaudoin and the board should have done a better job explaining about the proposed contract with the CCSO.
“I would like to have had better prepared statements from our council (and) our mayor as to why they're looking at it, what the benefits are. I understand this is a town hall meeting, but we need to know the facts before we can ask the right questions. We're asking a lot of questions that could have been addressed beforehand, and there's been a lot of confusion about this.”
Young stated that she came to the meeting because she felt that, due to the way the proposed contract had been announced on Facebook, the matter had been decided without the public getting to have any say on it.
“I felt like after researching the previous minutes from the previous city council meetings (that) this was not discussed in any manner,” she said. “And they had a city council meeting on April 28 and then a closed door meeting on May 5 and then they put the Facebook post out around May 10 and the language in the Facebook post was all past tense like it was decided in a done deal and inviting us to a town hall meeting to answer questions, and it just didn't sit very well with me. I don't agree with not having your own police department. It's like (a gentleman who spoke during the meeting) said, it will invite crime into our town.”
Young also stated that she felt her concerns were not sufficiently addressed.
“I feel like a lot of questions were asked by myself and other people that they did not directly answer,” she said. “And I think they did not directly answer because they made these contacts and were working on the contract and doing all of that with zero knowledge to the public. That's why it was not discussed in the meetings, because then there would have been notes about it in the city council meetings. So no, I don't feel like anybody here really got clear answers.”
Beaudoin says extra pay for officers not as easy as some think:
During the meeting, several of the speakers called on the board to increase the pay for Clever Police Officers. Beaudoin said the issue was more complicated than most people realize.
“One of the main responsibilities for the City Council is setting and enforcing the City's annual budget,” he stated in response to a media inquiry. “Several people expressed a desire to see our officers receive pay increases. While I understand those concerns, it isn't quite that simple. Over half of the department's budget is allocated for salaries.
“In addition to that, there are benefits such as health insurance, life insurance, retirement plans and our current take-home car policy that are included in the officers' overall compensation package. As a board, our goal is to make sure that all of our city employees receive fair wages that are in line with their experience and qualifications. If we are to keep our police department, we will have several things to consider with regard to the structure of the department. Hourly wage is just one small facet of the things that will need to be considered.”
Beaudoin also stated that he and the board would be “strongly considering” the feedback they had received from the city’s residents moving forward.
“The best thing that we as a board can do at this point is to very carefully consider all of the input we have received before making any decisions,” he said. “The people of Clever have been very outspoken about their opinions of this proposal, and I am glad to be able to have these discussions. We are very strongly considering all of the concerns raised by the citizens. We as a board need to make sure that we have thoroughly considered every angle of this proposal and remember that we are all working for the best interests of our community.”
