City to vote on hiring three police officers Tuesday

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BY CHUCK VANDENBERG
PCC EDITOR

FORT MADISON - The Fort Madison City Council will vote Tuesday on hiring three additional officers to the city police department.

The move comes as part of action being taken by the Lee County Sheriff Stacy Weber in conjunction with City Manager David Varley to get the department back to budgeted staffing levels.

The council will also be approving the city Civil Service Commissions entry level police officer eligibility list, which will include the new hires.

The department has been running short staffed since prior to former Police Chief Tim Sittig's departure in June. Since that time the Lee County Sheriff's Department has been serving as interim police chief while the city searches for Sittig's replacement.

The department lost another veteran officer in June when Capt. Bruce Gustafson retired after 38 years of service.

Weber went to work right away with other top deputies in the sheriff's department to start working on staffing and rotations to put more officers on the streets. He also established a full-time detective's position that has resulted in several breaks in robberies and criminal sexual abuse cases in the city.

Sheriff's officials have also moved the city forward in getting on-board computers purchased for all the city's police cruisers. Those computers and supplemental equipment are being reimbursed by the state.

The city hired the sheriff's department in May for up to six months to serve as the interim police chief. The city has hired a consultant to conduct a search for the new chief. Varley said he had hoped to wrap the search up in three to four months.

Weber and Chief Deputy Will Conlee were instrumental in getting the sheriff's department outfitted with on-board computers last year, a move Weber says has saved time and costs for the department with the efficiencies created.

In other action, the city council is scheduled to:

• approve a nuisance abatement agreement for property at 1805 36th Street.

• view a tourism video crafted by Fort Madison's Mike Killoren that is be planned for area hotels and other high profile areas in the city to showcase the city's history and tourist areas.

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