The Hillsboro Board of Alderpersons has decided to keep its police force after considering the possibility of contracting with the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office to permanently take over law enforcement in the city.
Instead, the board voted 7-0 Thursday evening (Jan. 24) at a special meeting to hire Steve Meinberg as a “police administrator.” Meinberg, who was the Sheriff’s Office undersheriff before retiring in 2017, will temporarily run the Hillsboro Police Department and help the city find a new police chief.
Former Hillsboro Police Chief Steve Hutt resigned Jan. 14, after the Sheriff’s Office began investigating the department amid allegations about theft and other problems there.
Another police officer was fired after problems with the Police Department came to light.
In addition, Hillsboro Mayor Joe Phillips resigned Jan. 18, saying was tired of dealing with the stress the city was causing him and his family.
The Sheriff’s Office also took over command of the Hillsboro Police Department about two weeks ago, under a temporary agreement.
Hillsboro City Administrator Jesse Wallis said he’s excited to start working with Meinberg, whose first day on the job will be Monday (Jan. 28).
Meinberg will be paid $65,000 per year while he serves as the city’s police administrator, Wallis said.
However, “it sounds like he will leave after we get a police chief,” Wallis said.
The Sheriff’s Office began investigating the Hillsboro Police Department on Jan. 9 and since then has uncovered what Sheriff Dave Marshak described as serious administrative deficiencies.
Despite the problems with the Police Department, the Board of Alderpersons decided it was best for the city to have its own Police Department, Wallis said.
Ward 1 Alderperson Brenda King, the mayor pro tem, said the board made its decisions after hearing from a number of citizens who did not want to see the Police Department eliminated.
“I thought it was a very good decision by the board to support our local Police Department,” King said. “We feel it’s a good thing for us to have our own Police Department.”
According to the temporary agreement between Hillsboro and the Sheriff’s Office, the city agreed to pay the Sheriff’s Office $9,868.45 a month to provide leadership at the Police Department.
The two entities had been negotiating to see if an agreement could be reached to have the Sheriff’s Office permanently take over policing Hillsboro, but once Meinberg takes over Monday, the Sheriff’s Office will no longer provide command at the Hillsboro Police Department.
“Everyone looked at the decision objectively, looked at all the options,” Wallis said. “We looked at the cost of both options. There was some savings with going with the Sheriff’s Office, but in the board’s opinion and my opinion, it did not justify losing the department.”
Meinberg said he hopes to help stabilize the department.
“First of all, we’ll do an assessment of where they are and what are their needs,” he said. “Then, we’ll get the place moving in the right direction. I don’t plan on this being a long-term deal.”
The Hillsboro Board of Alderpersons promoted Hutt to take over as its police chief last August, replacing Charles Bennett, who retired after a long illness and extended sick leave.
Hutt served as the department’s police chief since that time, although he had handled police chief duties long before because of Bennett’s absence.
Ward 3 Alderperson Nancy Maxwell did not attend Thursday’s special meeting.