Quincy City Council Discusses How It Chooses Its Chiefs

Discussion on how the city of Quincy chooses its fire and police chiefs was the focus of Tuesday night’s city council meeting.

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There was a first reading of a proposed ordinance giving the mayor the power to appoint the fire and police chiefs, a job that is currently handled by the Board of Fire and Police Commissioners.

Those in favor of the ordinance expressed concern that the city’s elected officials had no say in who runs the police and fire departments.

Mayor Mike Troup cited concerns over the cost involved in the process of hiring Fire Chief Bernie Vahlkamp.

"With the cost and how the process worked, it was a reminder for some of the longer serving aldermen that no elected office holder from the city really has a say in who the chief are," said Troup.

Those against the proposal say the commission was created to ensure protection for the chiefs against favoritism, retaliation and corruption.

Quincy Fire Chief Robert Copley said, "I have no issues with the way the police commission is operating. They've been very good, they've been fair and I have no concerns with these individuals or the practice of using a commission."

A motion was made to indefinitely table the ordinance, but the motion failed for lack of a second.