Agenda - Council - 02/25/1997 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Someone who plans for the future The next Police Chief should be someone who can imagine the challenges and opportunities of the future and develop plans to deal effectively with them. While anticipation is important, though, the Chief should not focus on the future to the exclusion of what's happening in the present. If the Chief is not creative, he or she should at least be able to recognize and appreciate the creative ideas of others. The Chief should be open to new ideas from many different sources and should think in terms of community needs, not just departmental needs. Someone who promotes technology Technology is important as a means of making the department more effective and efficient. While the Chief doesn't need to be a "hands-on" technician, he or she should understand how technology can be used to the benefit of the department. The consensus was that a community the size of Ramsey probably can't afford to be on the cutting edge of technology, which is often fraught with expensive "bugs" that need to be addressed. The City's goal should be to stay up-to-date and upgrade technology when analysis shows that the benefits clearly outweigh the costs of any investment. Someone who delegates and monitors day-to-day operations The definition of "day-to-day operations" can be understood several different ways. Most people seem to agree that the Police Chief should be concentrating on planning and "big picture" issues rather than working on the patrol schedule. The important thing, they think, is that the Chief keeps track of what's happening and holds people responsible for carrying out the responsibilities he delegates to them. Councilmembers want a Police Chief who is a good administrator and can give them good information to assist them in decision making. Someone in touch with the troops It is vitally important to police officers that their Chief be capable of working the street if necessary and remains aware of what it's like on the street today. Although they all respect the outgoing Chief's daily patrols, they don't expect the next Chief to patrol more than occasionally. They don't think the Chief should be on the patrol schedule. Part of being in touch with the troops is supporting them in their jobs, consistently but not blindly. Another part is being accessible and approachable when employees have concerns or questions or mistakes to discuss. Officers say the Chief's door is open now and they hope it stays open.