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Tracy Jackson was named and quickly
installed as the new chief of streets for the city of Lincoln. He
was sworn in by City Attorney Bill Bates.
Jackson has been acting superintendent
since May, when Donnie Osborne took early retirement. He was
Osborne's recommendation as interim head of the department until the
city could take the time necessary to test and evaluate applicants.
Jackson's salary will be $45,600 per
year plus benefits.
Two laid-off city streets employees are
being called back. Kevin Logan and Craig Eimer will return to their
jobs, subject to physician approval.
Alderman Verl Prather said, "I think it
is important that people understand that this is not an increase in
staff." He recalled that the department has been down by five with
three retirements and two lay-offs. With Jackson promoted out of the
ranks and the two returning employees, the department is still down
by three employees.
The council also approved a replacement
crossing guard for the Central School area. Sue E. Weindorf was
recommended by Chief Richard Montcalm for the auxiliary police
position.
The city also approved Glenn Shelton,
chairman of the council's police committee, to be a full voting
member of the Emergency Telephone System Board. The ETSB requests
that the city police committee chairman be the given position acting
as the city representative on their board. Shelton will be the city
liaison as long as he holds the police committee chairman position.
The city repositions committees every
two years. Often the people holding committee positions do not
change. Shelton indicated at another meeting that he hopes to stay
in his position as police committee chairman if he has a say in it.
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The new ETSB has a like county
representative acting as liaison to the county board. If either the
city or county liaisons are unable to fulfill their positions on the
board, the Lincoln mayor, in the case of the city, or county board
chairman for the county, can take the liaison's place.
The goal is for the ETSB to have equal
representation in policymaking for the city-county combined 911
dispatch center. The vision from the start of the Logan County 911
was to have a unified command center.
At present the sheriff runs the daily
operations in the dispatch room, and the police chief has input.
Two dispatchers are on duty on all
shifts, one from city and one from county, and they operate
separately. The dispatchers share covering calls when overloaded,
which is often. In addition to answering calls they have other
duties which differ.
Plans to restructure the operation of
the control room have been in the works for over two years. The
dispatch center will have more uniform responsibilities with equal
pay for dispatchers, and they will all be under one supervisor. The
supervisor will work closely with the city police chief and the
sheriff and will receive additional input from city and county
through the ETSB.
The changes
will make a more evenly controlled room, free up two city police
officers who are needed for the streets and free up some of the
sheriff's time, allowing him to put more effort into other areas. It
will create the best operating scenario for a 911 system.
[Jan
Youngquist]
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