When former Police Chief Monte James opened an email Friday, he had no idea the ax was about to fall on his 31-year law enforcement career with the city of Mustang.
The email asked him to come to city hall Friday afternoon and meet with City Manager Mike Rutledge.
“Literally I got called in on Friday by email and told that he (Rutledge) was going to fire me or I could resign,” said James, who went home and spent the weekend with his wife, discussing their future. “I went back in today (Monday) and told him I had not done anything wrong, and I wasn't going to resign and make it look like I had.”
James came to Mustang in 1980 after serving in the Army. While in the department, he served as a patrol officer, a detective and a canine officer, patrolling with a German shepherd named Elvis. He also started the drug education program known as DARE that warned fifth-graders about the dangers of illegal drugs use. James was hired as police chief on Jan. 24, 2003.
James said he had no idea his job was in danger, and recent crime statistics that he included in his proposed fiscal year 2011-2012 budget show the city's crime rate has fallen.
In the almost two years Rutledge has been in the city manager's post, James said he never received a job performance evaluation. He said such evaluations were done annually under former City Manager David Cockrell.
“It was absolutely a complete shock,” James said. “He (Rutledge) admitted to me that I have never done anything wrong. My guys haven't done anything wrong.”
Rutledge, a former county undersheriff, said he pressed the police department to be more visible in the city and more aggressive in neighborhood patrolling and traffic enforcement. He said that push led the department to adopt the updated muscle car, the Dodge Charger, as the department's new patrol vehicle. Rutledge said on Monday, he believed the Chargers were not being used enough for patrols.
James disputes that characterization. He said the first three Chargers were purchased last year and are used only by patrol officers. In the police department's proposed fiscal year 2011-2012 budget, James had asked for two more Chargers for patrol duties and one for his detectives.
“One of the things I talked to the city manager about after the budget hearings was that I had wanted a detective unit (car) and two patrol units (car),” he said. “It wasn't long after that that I got fired.”
But when the police department budget request was presented to the City Council, the vehicle request had ballooned to five new Dodge Charger patrol cars and one new sports utility vehicle at a cost of $98,755. Rutledge said he increased the request because of beneficial financing that exists now and believed the city should take advantage of lower interest rates.
James said he asked for a Charger for detectives because of those officers' two vehicles, one has 130,000 miles while the other has 140,000.
“I was trying to get one of those replaced,” he said. “That still left me two patrol units.”
James was known among city department heads as a staff member willing to ask tough questions of Rutledge. For his part, the city manager said he welcomes a dialogue with his staff.
“We can agree to disagree,” Rutledge said.
Some questions about the proposed fiscal year 2011-2012 city budget though were never answered.
James said the city developed the proposed budget without ever seeking bids for the public works services that are currently taken care of by Severn Trent, a private firm the city has contracted with for a decade. Severn Trent runs the city wastewater treatment plant, repairs waterlines, fixes roads, mows city lots and runs the animal control department.
When the city did not act earlier this year to solicit bids for the work, James heard the animal control department might be placed under the police department's responsibility. He said the department's budget did not include any money to do that, and he was never approached about how that would work.
“One of my biggest concerns is, as you know, we are starting a new fiscal year and as a department head, I didn't even know if we were even going to have infrastructure services come July 1,” James said. “I couldn't get an answer about that. I was concerned about what the police department was going to do about the animal control services. And what we were going to do about sewer and water?”
The Severn Trent deal ends June 30, and though the City Council has agreed to solicit bids from companies to supply the public works services, the request for proposals have not yet gone out. Thirty-five days remain in the current deal, and Rutledge said the city met Friday with officials with Severn Trent. He said the city will sign a stop-gap contract to avoid an end to those services until new providers are in place.
James' departure is the second for a key city staff member in the last six months. Earlier this year, former Finance Director Sheila Cardwell was fired.
“No I do not think the city is going in the right direction,” said James who added city staff morale is at an all-time low. Rutledge said he has no plans for future staff changes.
“I have heard rumors of other department head changes,” the former police chief said. “They (other department heads) probably do not have a feeling of security.”
A few hours after James' fate was decided early Monday the chief was still trying to understand why. There was a mix of bewilderment, anger and sadness in his voice. He said he has worked with an outstanding staff both inside his own department and with the other department heads in the city.
“A 31-year career with the city of Mustang is over because I haven't done anything wrong,” James said.