Pe Ell Mayor Spencer Nichols, head of table, advises the town council not to speak about any personnel matters
Updated
By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
PE ELL – The tiny west Lewis County town of Pe Ell is without a police force once again, days after its sole law enforcement officer was arrested for driving under the influence, less than two months into the job.
Town Marshal Anthony K. Corder resigned yesterday, and the situation has one community leader calling upon Pe Ell to dissolve its status as a town, saying it’s a sign it can’t afford to operate.
“Look at the history of the officers we’ve had,” Town Councilmember John Penberth said.
The previous marshal Steve Dawes was on the job about a year, before leaving a few months ago, according to Penberth.
Penberth suggested to the town council last night it could consider bankruptcy or it could think about becoming unincorporated
“We’re advertising for certified police officers, but because of our budget, we’re not getting certified people,” Penberth said. “That in itself shows we don’t have adequate funding to be a municipality.”
He indicated the alternative of paying $65,000 a year to the sheriff’s office for the services of one deputy is unaffordable.
Corder, 27, was hired in mid-February with no previous law enforcement experience. He was the only applicant.
The former Marine was commissioned as town marshal on Valentines Day and had yet to attend the state training academy. His pay for the part time job was $1,500 a month.
He turned in his resignation yesterday, according to Mayor Spencer Nichols.
Penberth’s remarks went largely unanswered, coming during a council meeting dominated by agenda of an upcoming spring cleanup and talk by volunteers on how to coordinate the annual parade.
The mayor, and the town’s legal counsel, cautioned council members not to speak of personnel matters.
One among the audience of 21 individuals suggested cutting the wages of the town clerk-treasurer, because she earns more than anyone who lives in Pe Ell. Town Councilmember Kristi Milanowski asked about utilizing volunteer reserve officers.
Mayor Nichols indicated such a program can only be set up by a paid town marshal.
Following the less than hour-long meeting, Nichols said he has put together a notice for the local newspaper that Pe Ell is accepting applications for the job.
Their preferred applicants will be already commissioned and state certified, or at least willing to become certified. Starting salary will be based on experience.
The deadline to apply is May 12.
Nichols declined to answer further questions about Corder’s short tenure, with the town attorney apologizing.
“We can’t comment on personnel matters while an investigation is going on,” Allen C. Unzelman said.
Because Corder not yet attended training to become a state-certified law enforcement officer, his police powers were limited to inside the city limits in the town with a population of 630.
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For background, read “Pe Ell’s town marshal pleads not guilty to driving under the influence” from Saturday April 12, 2014, here
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter
Did this police officer ever get charged with DUI or did this get swept under the rug?
Of course, historically, the chief function of the town constable is to provide presence in town to keep people from speeding. And ticketing those that do. Their jurisdiction is only within the city limits, which is pretty small. Any serious crimes, the county get called in.
Perhaps a vote of the people of Pe Ell is needed to decide to raise taxes to support a full time and fully paid officer or dissolve the charter.
It’s not irresponsible to make financial adjustments when times are tough; Avoiding those tough decisions is.
I should add (and it’s pretty obvious) that $50 a day won’t get much in return in any circumstance. As I said earlier, no easy answers here.
None of the places you names are incorporated, Extenuating Circumstances, so they can’t legally have their own police department. Any unincorporated town automatically falls under the jurisdiction of the county in almost all services such as police, fire, parks, etc.
Pe Ell’s best bet might be to contract with the LCSO for what both sides would agree to as $1,500 a month worth of extra patrols.
Extenuating Circumstances says:
Saturday, April 19, 2014 at 2:22 pm
One last thought. The near by communities of Doty, Dryad or Curtis
have never had a police force. Does Adna ?
Adna does not either.
The City of Chehalis PD is the closest.
One last thought. The near by communities of Doty, Dryad or Curtis
have never had a police force. Does Adna ?
Just a thought. $ 1,500 a month for a part time job isn’t bad at all given the low cost of living in Pe Ell. If a free or half-off rent apartment or small house were part of the package. Or perhaps the city council agrees to pay utility costs of residence, that would make it even more attractive. Especially for someone who is perhaps retired law enforcement or military MP.
The other side of it is, if it’s only part time, that would leave time for another supplemental income job as well.
Monument you come across as a 6th grade drop out who has a bad meth habit. You really should have someone edit your posts for you before you hit the submit button. You make about as much sense now as you did when you used your alter ego on here…
“Monument For Citizens Killed By Police Gang Members says:
Friday, April 18, 2014 at 12:12 am
This is how cops do it. They quit before their fired and they wait a few years and move to another police force to continue there carers as police criminals. Happens all the time.”
Really?
This is the first I’ve heard of it. I must have missed that news story.
Where, when and how often; besides all the time?
I would have thought a criminal conviction would be cause for not getting hired somewhere else; No?
I know lets advertise this is a copless town and why were at it lets tell everyone the 911 system is down again! It’s kind of like on Face Book when people get robbed because they tell everyone where their at…
This is how cops do it. They quit before their fired and they wait a few years and move to another police force to continue there carers as police criminals. Happens all the time.
Having the Sheriff contract to patrol and do the investigations in Pe Ell is the answer. Basic pay for a qualified LE is $5000 dollars a month in just salary let alone cost of vehicle, office, temporary hold facility etc. I can’t see a toen of just 600 people wanting to foot the bill.
LCSO will charge more money than funding one PeEll Marshall will cost. A retired MP is not a viable option. Military Police are not certified by the State of Washington. He/she would have to go to the police academy. Then, they will be certified and worth more money. The problem is not about the law enforcement in PeEll. The problem is how can revenue be enhanced so that a new Marshall is paid competitive wages and benefits. If the choice is to unincorporate and disband the Marshall’s office, the citizens of PeEll will give up local control of all services.
The citizens of PeEll’s best option is to raise taxes and pay the county for a deputy. If the decision is made to not do anything the result will be another town taken over by tweakers, been to Winlock lately….
Given PeEll’s past history with the way the city has been run, who in their right mind mind would work for them. In a city with a weak council and strong mayor system you are working at the whim of the Mayor. The Mayor has sole discretion as to discipline and how he wants the Marshall to perform. One disagreement and the Mayor can simply fire you. What the city will wind up with is applicants who would never be able to be hired by an agency who actually tests the applicants. Background checks, lie detectors and physc tests are given for a reason. I think the best solution is for us to simply desolve and become a community. Let the SO and WSP take care of anything that happens, with no cost for community members.
If the town (read “tax payers”) want police services that are directly accountable to the mayor/town council then its time to raise taxes. This is simply a money issue. Unless your willing to pay for professional services your going to keep having problems.
The better option might be a variation on your #3 choice: No need to dissolve the town charter (given how Pe Ell appears to be run, however, that might not be the worst idea)…just contract with the LCSO for added patrols from whoever is covering the West County.
There isn’t a town close enough to make your first option very workable, like Mossyrock did with Morton, but as for your second option, perhaps a retired MP from the military drawing a pension might be willing to sign on as Pe Ell’s town officer if lodging and decent part-time pay is provided.
No easy answers here, because they’ll be hard-pressed to find a good currently-qualified LEO willing to marshal a remote town of 600 for $1,500 a month.
No money, but wants their own police officer.
1. Enter into an agreement with another town like Winlock to share services.
2. Look over the retirement list for WSP or other local Police and see if one of them would be interested in a part time job.
Or:
3. Dissolve town charter and become a LCSO patrolled area just like Packwood, Onalaska, Randle, Ashford, Mineral, etc.