Town Council appoints Buckner as next Police Chief
MOORESVILLE — The Mooresville Town Council approved the hiring of Kerry Buckner as the town's new chief of police during its meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 2.
The hiring received a 5-0 vote. Buckner, who was recommended by the Mooresville Police Commission Friday, July 29, will officially step into the new role later this month.
A total of 32 applicants had applied for the vacancy. The police commission, which is responsible for hiring police officers, interviewed eight candidates before reaching its final decision to nominate Buckner.
Buckner arrives in Mooresville with more than 30 years of law enforcement experience working at the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department.
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The new police chief outlined his goals during his discussion with the town council. This includes interviewing each police officer to gain a better understanding of the department. He also mentioned that he will focus on developing the department's K-9 program and making the police department more accessible to the public.
Interim Chief of Police Salary
Councilman Jeff Cook raised the point that Interim Police Chief Brock Chipman has not received a police chief's pay while shouldering the extra responsibilities and duties the job involves. He said he disagreed with this, believing that Chipman should be compensated on a police chief's salary.
Cook also proposed a motion that all future interim chiefs receive the pay associated with the role, starting with Chipman.
"I'd also like something written up from this point going forward to cover this so it's not a problem and it doesn't have to happen again," Cook said. "I feel if they're doing the role and the duties of that position, theyshould be paid for it."
Council President Tom Warthen and Councilman Dustin Stanley both expressed unease about the idea, citing a concern that previous town employees who served as police or fire chiefs in an interim capacity did not receive the same pay that the town's permanent chiefs would have been compensated with.
Councilman Shane Williams acknowledged this point. He agreed with Cook, stating that the council had the opportunity to change this for the better.
"I totally agree (with Cook). I don't like the idea of asking people to do a job they are not compensated for. I think that's kind of ethically wrong," Williams said. "I agree with the concept that we're here now, we can do the right thing and make it retro or make it going forward for fire and police."
The motion passed 4-1, with Warthen voting no. Warthen said that while he supports the idea moving forward, he does not think it is fair to past interim chiefs to pay Chipman a police chief's salary dating back to his appointment in April.
Chipman has been serving as interim police chief since early April following the controversial demotion of former Police Chief Kevin Julian.
Julian was initially promoted to police chief in January 2020 after Richard Allen's retirement. The town council voted 5-0 to demote him to his original rank of lieutenant at its March 16 meeting.
1 & 3 East Main Street Demolition
The town council officially approved its contract with Restoration Impact LLC, the company the town has hired to demolish the tornado-damaged building on 1 and 3 East Main Street in downtown Mooresville.
The council had previously approved Restoration Impact LLC's $100,000 bid during its July 19 meeting. However, the town's legal counsel advised that a final decision could not be made at that time until a professional services agreement had been inserted into the contract.
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The demolition process is set to begin on Monday, Aug. 8. During that time, the surrounding areas will be closed off to cars and pedestrians. The project could take between four and five weeks to complete. A crane and excavators will be used to remove the existing structure.
Unkept properties
The town's Building Department Superintendent Dave Moore approached the council to discuss two dilapidated properties that continue to receive high numbers of complaints from citizens.
These properties have been neglected for at least the last decade, according to Moore. One of them stretches back to an even longer period of neglect. He said his office has consistently received complaints concerning these properties since he began working at the building department ten years ago. The town has sent letters and made phone calls to the owners of both properties requesting that they cooperate and maintain the homes.
Since no cleanup has yet taken place at either property, Moore came before the council to discuss the possibility of turning the matter over to legal counsel to explore the town's legal capability of enforcing the upkeep of the properties.
It was decided that Moore will reach out to the property owners one more time to request that the properties in question be cleaned up. The owners will also be informed that the town could be forced to take legal action if no immediate actions are taken to remedy the situation.
The decision to move forward with legal will depend on the response Moore receives from the property owners. Moore will share the response with the council during the next meeting.
The address of each property was not disclosed.
The next meeting of the Mooresville Town Council is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 16 at the Mooresville Government Center, 4 E. Harrison St., Mooresville.
Contact reporter Tyler Haughn at thaughn@reporter-times.com.
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This article originally appeared on The Reporter Times: Town Council appoints Buckner as next Police Chief
