Mooresville Police Department edges closer to hiring new officers
MOORESVILLE — Police Chief Kerry Buckner informed the Mooresville Town Council during its meeting Tuesday, Oct. 4, that the Mooresville Metropolitan Police Department is ready to begin its interview process to fill two vacancies on the force.
The department is looking to hire a full-time police officer and a reserve police officer. The chief confirmed the department received more than 14 applications last month. The total number of applications has now increased to 30.
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"We are going to start our applicant interviews. I told them once we get a group of five, we are going to interview them. Having 30 people has taken a lot of work to do backgrounds, call references and do home interviews," Buckner said. "The detectives I have out right now are doing home interviews. So we are moving forward with that to hopefully fill our spots."
Hiring new police officers tends to be more involved due to the extensive background checks that are conducted for each applicant and the large list of pre-employment requirements.
Buckner said he hopes to have the roles filled before the end of this year. However, he also stressed that the application process will not be rushed.
"We are not just going to take people to be taking people. We are doing a thorough background on them because I don't want a bad apple that came from another department," Buckner said. "Then we are vetting our applicants out with IMPD and Plainfield to see if they have been there, applied and maybe failed a polygraph or something like that. So that way we take care of them right off the bat."
The police chief also provided an update on the department's efforts to secure body cameras for its officers. Buckner has been working closely with Motorola Solutions to purchase the cameras as part of a five-year grant the town has been awarded by the Department of Justice. The town council approved the Motorola subscription during its Sept. 20 meeting.
"Motorola has been in constant contact with me moving forward with the body cam," Buckner said. "They have been real informative and they are going to send some people to do training."
The grant allocates a total of $17,600 to finance the cameras and geographic information system (GIS) software. The town is responsible for matching $4,400 of that total every year. The police department must reapply for the grant each year throughout its five-year duration.
The cameras must be in operation by the end of this year to avoid losing the grant.
Renewal of town insurance plans
The Mooresville Town Council passed multiple renewal agreements concerning insurance plans and dental coverage that is provided by the town to its employees.
The council approved a renewal agreement with Trustmark, a third-party administrator that oversees the town's cell phone and health insurance plans.
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"They are the ones that oversee and make sure that we are getting everything that we should be getting from our insurance companies. They coordinate the benefits," Mooresville Town Council President Tom Warthen said.
The contract was originally approved by the council in August. The council unanimously voted to move forward with the contract.
The council also approved a renewal with Delta Dental, the dental plan that is provided to town employees. It is fully funded by the town of Mooresville.
160 N. Jefferson Street sewer adjustment
A sewer adjustment worth over $200 was approved by the council for a rental property located at 160 N. Jefferson Street. The property owners received a bill worth $665.44 due to a leak that occurred underground and aimed to reduce the total.
"The property had been vacant and they had an underground leak between the meter and the house, which means that the usage registered on the meter and they got an astronomical bill," Mooresville Clerk-Treasurer Dianna Wamsley said. "So what our policy is today is that we will write off whatever consumption amount that the water utility will adjust off. So we did that initial adjustment. They weren't happy with that because they said the water did not go into the sewer system and it just got absorbed by the ground."
Wamsley said the property's average sewer bill costs $30.09. A price adjustment of $347.06 had already been provided to the property owners. The couple still wanted an additional adjustment of $288.29.
The council approved the request.
The next meeting of the Mooresville Town Council is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 18 at the Mooresville Government Center, 4 E. Harrison St., Mooresville.
This article originally appeared on The Reporter Times: Mooresville Police Department edges closer to hiring new officers
