Minutes - Council Work Session - 10/07/2014

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Captain Katers stated while he was in high school, he planned on going to college for business. However, he got involved with the Explorer Program with Coon Rapids in 1987. He enjoyed the program and said he thought he could excel at it. He was in the program for three to four years, and decided to go to college for Law Enforcement. He stated he went to Anoka Ramsey Community College and North Hennepin for an Associates Degree in Law Enforcement. While he was in school, he worked with Anoka County. He stated he worked for four years as a correctional officer and learned a lot. He then transferred to the courts. He said he worked full time as a correctional officer and a bailiff. He went back to school, got his skills, and then was hired by Sherburne County as a licensed police officer in the courthouse and transport. After working there two years, he was hired by the City of Ramsey as a patrol officer. He worked in that position five years and transferred to work as an investigator in 2005. He became Sergeant of Investigations in 2006. He moved to Support Services in 2008. In 2009, he became the Manager of Central Records System with 11 cities. He became a Lieutenant in 2010 and Police Captain in 2012. He said he has been in law enforcement for 21 years. , He noted he is a scuba diver and was also part of the underwater recovery team for Anoka County. 2. Please describe your strengths and limitations for the Chief of Police position. Captain Katers stated that he found getting feedback from others was helpful to find out his own strengths. He said going through the assessment tools, he received feedback that was positive. He said he has good problem solving and critical thinking skills. He sets goals, and sets an example. He is honest and has a high work ethic. He commented actions are sometimes more important than words. He said one of his limitations is that he is not a great public speaker. He said he took classes this summer that would not be comfortable for him and where he could be challenged at the FBI Academy. He said he came out much more developed. He explained when he first became a supervisor, he wanted to continue to handle the same duties that he knew, and add on new duties for the new position. He could not possibly keep up and he learned to delegate. He said he had become a supervisor to the people that had trained him, and he was able to talk through any adversity and be respected as a supervisor. 3. In your letter of interest, you stated the one of your goals as Chief of Police would be to introduce programs that further promote the City of Ramsey's reputation as a safe community; one that encourages businesses and families to make it their home. Please explain what type of programs you were referring to and why you think this is important. Captain Katers explained he got the opportunity to look at feedback of the survey given to Police Department employees. This was helpful in setting a path for the goals. He said he saw a lot of patterns and wrote some down. He commented that having a Drug Task Force Officer was a reoccurring theme. However, this requested position did not make the new budget. He said he feels it is an important position to help patrol some of the drug crimes that happen in the City. He indicated he would like to have a citizen's academy. He said the department does not do a good enough job in self promotion. A citizen's academy would give the citizens insight into what the Police Department does. Some of the perceptions of mistrust of police could be related to a misperception of what the police do. He said those are the two he would like to see: a Drug City Council Work Session / October 7, 2014 Page 2 of 10