I feel that most voters choose the mayor with the belief that the mayor’s role is to oversee the police department. Mr. Kesner states in his letter that, “The best practice is for elected borough officials to cooperate regarding police department administration – and for the most part that occurs.”
It is obvious that this “unique arrangement” of “divided authority” requires a cooperated effort between elected officials. It has also been obvious that Borough Council has opposed Mayor Gilliland in many aspects of her role as mayor, including participation with the public, visits from the Governor, the redirection of traffic during special events, access to restricted areas, scheduling of the police force, overtime, and employee contracts. Ultimately, an unexplained resignation request was announced to the public.
When this lack of compromise and continued opposition is combined with the recent high-profile political incidents among members of law enforcement, the resulting conflict and biases makes it difficult for citizens to pinpoint the source of the problem(s). Consequently, the tug-of-war between the Mayor and Borough Council minimizes accountability of the police department, opens the door for “blame games,” and limits the power of voting citizens.
When the mayor cannot oversee the police department, the mayor should not be held accountable for problems that occur within that department. If the Borough Council wants full responsibility of police administration, all members of Council should be held accountable. This becomes problematic for voters due to staggered terms of council seats. The citizens should have the opportunity to vote for or against all Council Members each time the mayor’s seat is up for election, since we are ultimately voting for officials to “oversee” the police department. If his/her duties as mayor are overridden by Council, then the citizens should be able to vote accordingly.
While this divided authority may work in other communities across Pennsylvania, it is obvious that it is not working in Clearfield. I am pleased that this issue will be presented to the PA Courts so that the dramatic affairs of our local government can be put to rest and we can move on as a community.
Christy Fulton
Clearfield
