Kempner hires part-time police officer

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The Kempner City Council voted last week to hire Heriberto “Eddie” Rodriguez for a part-time, temporary position as a police officer.

Mayor Pro Tem Mack Ruszkiewicz, Councilman Jared Jones and Councilman Norm Parker voted in favor of the hiring.

Councilman John Wilkerson voted against the item.

Councilwoman Melba Vandeveer was absent from the meeting.

Wilkerson said he understands the need for the police officer. The councilman, however, suggested the city pay Rodriguez and other reserves at an hourly rate, rather than putting them in part-time or full-time roles.

Such action, Wilkerson said, could help save money and attract reserves. In suggesting savings, Wilkerson noted expenses Kempner faces – such as the cost of the newly created city manager position.

Ruszkiewicz said money for the part-time, temporary police position can come from savings the city is realizing now that a full-time position is vacant.

“So, in that respect, until we have a full-time, we are cutting [spending], because we’re not paying a full-time [employee],” Ruszkiewicz said.

The mayor pro tem cautioned against delaying when Police Chief Charles Rodriguez has someone who could help by serving in a part-time role.

Parker said he agrees with Ruszkiewicz.

Mayor Keith Harvey said there is no need to deviate from the police budget plan.

“That [part-time] position is already allocated in the budget,” the mayor said. “We cannot use the mere fact that we now have a city manager as a reason and [say] we need to save these funds because we now have a city manager. That’s not the way to go.

“We knew there would be challenges with the city manager position,” Harvey added. “This is something that was voted on, and now the city must answer and respond.”

The mayor also said it is premature to implement hourly pay for reserve police officers.

Wilkerson said he would hate to have to lay off a police officer if Kempner encounters budget constraints due to the city manager position – which was not funded when the council adopted the 2020-2021 fiscal year budget.

Wilkerson said he thinks rather than hiring a part-time, temporary officer, it would be more prudent to use remaining funds to give existing reserve officers incentives to work more.

SPECIAL RECOGNITION

In other business, Kempner was recognized as a Purple Heart City as a means of honoring military personnel wounded or killed in combat. A road sign and a pair of certificates stating the designation were presented to Harvey.

“This is something the city has been working on for quite some time,” the mayor said, adding that Kempner has community members with strong military roots.

In other business, community members, including the police chief, were acknowledged for their service. Rodriguez was presented a certificate from the Tri-County Toy Run of Central Texas to recognize the Kempner Police Department’s involvement during the 28th annual event.

Also, Harvey presented a plaque to Sgt. Major Charles Chapelle to honor him for his service during military-related events at Sylvia Tucker Memorial Park.

COMMENTS ABOUT PARK

In another matter, Brian Parker of the Kempner Family Community Development Center nonprofit group addressed safety concerns at Sylvia Tucker Memorial Park.

An approximately 25-foot cliff is on the east side of the park, Parker said. He sought permission to have a chainlink fence installed for safety. The fence would run from the northern end of the park to the entrance to the creek – near the south end of the park. There would be no cost to the public for the materials or labor, Parker said.

Volunteers are prepared to clean trash and dead brush from the area, Parker said. The cleaning would be done during an already scheduled closing of the park on April 9, Parker said.

The council took no action on the recommendation.