Chapter 2.05
POLICE DEPARTMENT
Sections:
2.05.020 Appointment of police reserves.
2.05.030 Rules, powers, and benefits of police reserves.
2.05.050 Board of metropolitan police commissioners.
2.05.010 Force of reserves.
Pursuant to IC 36-8-3-20, there is hereby established a force of reserve policemen for the town of Whitestown, Indiana. [Ord. 2000-03 § 1; Ord. 1984-05 § 10; Ord. 1978-03 § 1. Prior code Title 3, Art. 6, Ch. 1, § 1]
2.05.020 Appointment of police reserves.
The town council may by ordinance authorize the [chief of police] to appoint up to 12 reserve policemen to serve in the town of Whitestown, Indiana. Pursuant to IC 36-8-3-20(g), a police reserve officer may not be appointed until he has completed the training and probationary period specified by rules of the department. [Ord. 2008-11 § 5; Ord. 2000-03 § 2; Ord. 1984-05 § 10; Ord. 1978-03 § 2. Prior code Title 3, Art. 6, Ch. 1, § 2]
2.05.030 Rules, powers, and benefits of police reserves.
The reserve policemen shall abide by the rules established by the town council and/or the [chief of police] and said members are hereby designated to have all the same police powers of the regular members of the Whitestown police department, excepting as limited by the rules and procedures of the Whitestown police department. Said reserves may not participate in any pension programs provided for the regular members of the department nor shall any police reserve member be, nor shall this section be construed that they be, a member of the regular Whitestown police department. [Ord. 2008-11 § 5; Ord. 2000-03 § 3; Ord. 1984-05 § 10; Ord. 1978-03 § 3. Prior code Title 3, Art. 6, Ch. 1, § 3]
2.05.040 Duty time.
Police reserves shall be directed by the [chief of police] and shall be assigned duty time as the needs of the town require. [Ord. 2008-11 § 5; Ord. 2000-03 § 4; Ord. 1984-05 § 10; Ord. 1978-03 § 4. Prior code Title 3, Art. 6, Ch. 1, § 4]
2.05.050 Board of metropolitan police commissioners.
A. Chief of Police. The office of town marshal for the town of Whitestown, Indiana, shall be abolished upon the effective date of the ordinance codified in this chapter and the appointment of the chief of police hereunder.
B. Board of Police Commissioners. There is hereby established the town of Whitestown board of metropolitan police commissioners (“board”). The board shall consist of five members (“commissioner(s)”), each appointed by the town council. In order to qualify as a commissioner, an appointee must be of good moral character and must be a legal resident of the town. A police officer employed by the town may not be appointed to the board. Furthermore, not more than three of the commissioners may be of the same political party, so long as individuals who satisfy this requirement can be found to serve on the board. The town council shall appoint one member of the town council as an ex officio member of the board, and no more than one town council member may serve on the board at any given time. Any commissioner who is also a member of the town council may continue to serve on the board until the end of the commissioners’ term even if the commissioner vacates his/her position on the town council.
C. Terms, Oaths, Bonds, and Salaries. The appointment of each commissioner shall carry with it a specific term. The town council shall appoint the initial five commissioners to the board to begin service on September 10, 2008, which initial appointments shall carry the following terms:
1. Two commissioners shall serve for a term of one year;
2. Two commissioners shall serve for a term of two years;
3. One commissioner, who is also a member of the town council, shall serve for a term of three years.
Thereafter, the term of each commissioner shall be for a period of three years with the term of each commissioner expiring on January 1st of the third year following its last expiration, such that commissioners serve for staggered terms with the terms of not more than two commissioners expiring in any given year. Each commissioner is subject to removal by the town council for any cause that the town council considers sufficient.
Before performing any function of a commissioner, an individual that is not also a member of the town council shall take and subscribe an oath or affirmation of office before the Boone County circuit court clerk. All commissioners, including those who are also members of the town council, shall take and subscribe an oath or affirmation before the Boone County circuit court clerk that, in each appointment or removal made by the board to or from the town police department, he/she will not appoint or remove a member of the town police department because of political affiliation of the person or for another cause or reason other than that of the fitness of the person. All oaths and affirmations shall be filed and placed among the Boone County circuit court clerk’s records. Each commissioner that is not also a member of the town council shall give a bond in the penal sum of $5,000.00, payable to the state and conditioned upon the faithful and honest discharge of his/her duties. The bond must be approved and paid by the town council.
The salary of the commissioners shall be fixed by the town council and is payable monthly out of the treasury of the town; provided, however, that a commissioner who is also a member of the town council shall not receive compensation as a commissioner.
D. Powers and Duties. The board shall, subject to the approval of the town council and the qualifications for appointment as determined by the board, appoint as many persons as necessary to serve in the police department (“department”) of the town. One person shall be appointed to serve as the chief of police. The board may also appoint other employees that are necessary to carry out the work of the department. The board may, but is not required to, appoint the current town marshal and/or any current deputy marshal to serve in the department. All persons so appointed by the board must be of good moral character and serve only during good behavior. The board may recommend and the town council shall determine the compensation to be paid to members of the department in amounts that are just and reasonable.
The board constitutes the safety board of the town for purposes of the suspension, demotion, or dismissal of any member of the department. Proceedings for the suspension, demotion, or dismissal of any member of the department shall be conducted in the manner prescribed by IC 36-8-3-4. The disciplinary provisions of IC 36-8-3-4.1 also apply to the safety board and the police chief.
The board may make general and specific rules for the government and discipline of the department and may make special and general orders to the department through the chief of police, who is the executive head of the department. Members of the police department must: (1) reside in Indiana within Boone County or a county that is contiguous to Boone County; and (2) maintain in his/her residence telephone service with the town. Members of the department may use vehicles owned or maintained by the town or its department outside Boone County during the performance of official duties. The board shall prescribe regulations governing the use of vehicles owned or maintained by the town, including the use of such vehicles outside the performance of official duties (i.e., take-home vehicles). The board may, in its sole discretion, revise from time to time its regulations and expand, limit, or eliminate the availability of take-home vehicles. In all other respects, the department and police chief as provided for herein shall be governed by applicable statutes of the state as set forth in the Indiana Code and as amended from time to time, and to the extent appropriate, such other ordinances governing the conduct of the department enacted now and hereafter by the town council.
E. Effectiveness. The effective date of the ordinance codified in this section shall be September 10, 2008, or the appointment of the chief of police, whichever comes first. It is the intent of this section that there be no gap between the abolition of the office of town marshal and the creation of the office of chief of police or duties of the same. All duties and obligations of the town marshal shall be assumed by the chief of police, and all town ordinances or resolutions referring to the town marshal or authorizing or prescribing the town marshal to undertake any action shall be interpreted to authorize or require such action by the chief of police. All other ordinances or resolutions or parts thereof which are inconsistent with or contrary to the provision of the ordinance codified in this section, or Indiana law authorizing the creation of the board or prescribing the role of the chief of police, are hereby repealed, and the provisions of this section are separable, such that the invalidity of any portion shall not affect the validity of any other terms.
F. Structure.
1. Board of Police Commissioners Structure. Beginning January 1, 2017, the respective town council member appointed and acting as an ex officio member of the board under Ordinance 2008-11, as may be appointed, reappointed, and/or removed by the town council from time to time, shall act as the president and chairperson of the board (“council member”).
2. Organizational Meeting. The board shall not hold its first meeting after January 1st of each respective year, or select its other officers for any year, until after the town council has held its yearly organizational meeting. Following the adoption of the ordinance codified in this subsection, notwithstanding any action of the board prior to the town council’s 2016 appointments to the board, the board shall act to select its officers (including board president) for 2016. [Ord. 2016-02 §§ 1, 2; Ord. 2008-11 §§ 1 – 5]