Campton Hills leader explains why police chief should go
Campton Hills Village President Patsy Smith on Tuesday outlined her case as to why she wants the village's police chief dismissed when his contract expires later this month.
"After careful consideration, I believe it is no longer in the village's best interest to continue his appointment," Smith wrote in a memo Tuesday to trustees. Smith wrote she wants to appoint Sgt. Bob Reichardt as chief once Daniel Hoffman's contract expires on Dec. 27. "Please note, I am not 'removing' the chief from office, but rather choosing not to reappoint him."
Trustees talked all Tuesday night and looked to continue past midnight to discuss Hoffman's contract and other issues.
In the memo, Smith argued that Hoffman has breached his contract by not acting as the second officer on duty during the day Monday through Friday to provide backup and traffic enforcement.
Smith's memo also argued that Hoffman failed to adequately supervise his staff and cost the village a "substantial amount of money" in a wrongful termination settlement because he mentioned a part-time officer's age and health when he was fired.
The memo also accused Hoffman of signing a false affidavit regarding the police pension fund; waiving a background check on a former officer when he was promoted to full-time status without knowledge of the village's Fire and Police Commission, which hires full-time officers; and failing protect the identity of juveniles when responding to Freedom of Information Act requests.
After reviewing the memo, Hoffman said the allegations are false or are embellishments that were in his confidential personnel review.
"These are absolutely false statements made by the village president to slander and discredit by reputation. I will vehemently defend my professional reputation," he said. "This is a clear violation of my professional privacy."
At a Dec. 2 meeting, Smith pushed for Hoffman's contract to expire and appoint another chief, but trustees voted Smith down and passed a motion to extend Hoffman's contract through May 2015. That date coincides with when the village president's next 4-year term begins as the president's seat, clerk and three trustee seats are up for election in April.
Smith said in her memo she was going to veto the board's Dec. 2 decision to extend the contract.
William Braithwaite, who serves as Campton Hills' village attorney, also provided a legal opinion, saying that trustees overstepped their authority when they voted to extend Hoffman's contract to May 2015.
Braithwaite wrote that Smith has the responsibility to make a new appointment when the police chief's contract expires.
"We believe that the action of the Board of Trustees in amending the Chief's contract is a nullity," he wrote. "We also note that the attempt of the Village Board to control the appointment process by a contract extension violated constitutional separation of powers between the legislative body and the executive."