By Helen Wilbers
NEW BLOOMFIELD — New Bloomfield residents’ concerns haven’t changed much since the February City Council meeting — they’ve just become louder and more urgent.
Following former police chief Greg Mooney’s Feb. 28 announcement that he’d been asked to resign, residents packed into three rows of chairs at city hall Thursday. More people filled the corners. The room grew claustrophobic, and whispers and the occasional shout could be heard.
Speaker after speaker asked about problems ranging from gas theft to law enforcement presence to eroding culverts. However, there were few answers given.
“We’re looking into that,” Mayor Greg Rehagen replied, often, to increasingly irate responses from the crowd.
New Bloomfield resident Jason Piper asked if the police chief position would be filled. After former Sgt. Brad Brewer’s position was dissolved at the beginning of the year, Mooney was the city’s last remaining police officer.
“That decision has not been made yet,” Rehagen said.
Nor would council members comment on why Mooney was asked to resign.
“Personnel questions will not be discussed,” Rehagen said.
Mooney also declined to comment on the details.
“I think people know by now what happened,” he said.
In his Facebook announcement, Mooney said he was told he violated the media policy. The city declined to provide copies of its employee media policy without a Missouri Sunshine Law request. Meeting attendee and New Bloomfield resident Cheri Wilson presented the city with a Sunshine Law request for several documents.
Mooney said he’s currently seeking employment, as he has a family to provide for. He doesn’t regret speaking out about the city halving its force, however.
“The citizens needed to know,” he said. “It’s unfortunate how it turned out, but the citizens needed to know that information.”
New Bloomfield residents speaking during the meeting said they appreciated his transparency.
“I think the city is really upset because Mooney was keeping us up to date and he got fired for it,” Sarah Dunbar-Simms said.
Budget woes
As Rehagen has pointed out, it boils down to the budget.
The police department is paid out of the city’s general budget, which is weak this year, he said. Aside from salaries, the city must also account for insurance, benefits, equipment and transportation for police.
Other portions of the budget are doing well — including the part that pays the salaries of the city’s superintendent and clerk. The city superintendent’s salary increased from $70,967 in 2017 to $75,967, and the clerk’s from $30,246 to $36,051.
“If you think we can pay big city salaries for a city clerk and a city superintendent, we need a big city police department,” Wilson said.
Rehagen said during a recent work session, the council discussed potential solutions, including ballot issues to raise taxes for the purpose of having a police department.
Temporary solutions
The next election is in August. In the meantime, the city has stop-gap measures in place, Rehagen said.
“We’re working with the county for enforcement, and we’ve been in contact with … the State Highway Patrol,” he said.
A meeting attendee proposed reviving the city watch.
“I can watch my neighbors steal my gas all night long,” resident Rita Kliethermes said. “What can I do about it?”
Callaway County Sheriff Clay Chism attended the meeting in hopes of reducing some fears.
“We ran three months of data,” he said. “For high priority calls in New Bloomfield, once we’re dispatched, our average time to arrive is eight minutes. … (But) I’m the first to tell you, if there’s an officer in New Bloomfield, he will be there before us.”
He added there can be delays between the dispatcher receiving a call and contacting the sheriff’s office. He said that typically, only three or four road deputies are on duty at any given time.
Residents listed a number of safety issues such as vandalism, package thefts, car break-ins and drug problems.
Chism said the sheriff’s office was actively investigating the car break-ins.
“That case is very, very much open,” he said.
Resident Kerwin Kollmeier pointed out the loss of New Bloomfield’s police will stretch the sheriff’s office thinner.
“This puts three of our county school districts under the protection of a sheriff’s office that has three or four deputies on at a time, covering one of the largest counties in the state,” he said.
As the public comment period crept to a close, attendees headed outside and Wilson expressed a need for change.
“I want to see new city officials,” Wilson said. “I meant what I said in there: I plan on running myself.”