Resolution #14-10-215 to Promote a Police Captain to Police Chief

The purpose of this case is to ask the City Council to authorize the promotion of Captain Jeff Katers to the position of Chief of Police.  

Captain Katers' Background:
Captain Katers is a dedicated police officer with more than twenty-one years of experience in criminal justice and public safety; fourteen of which have been with the City of Ramsey.  He has experience with budgeting, personnel management, public safety and emergency management; as well as proven organizational and problem solving skills and a reputation for a strong work ethic and reliability. 

The Interview:
A work-session was held on October 7, 2014, to interview Captain Katers for the upcoming Police Chief vacancy; the position will be vacated by Chief Jim Way after his retirement on January 31, 2015.  Five of the seven Councilmembers were present for the interview; Councilmember Tossey and Councilmember Backus were unable to attend the interview.

Captain Katers was asked fifteen prepared interview questions and five additional questions were asked by the City Council.  Captain Katers interviewed for approximately one hour and forty-five minutes prior to being excused for the City Council to discuss the interview and next steps.    All five Councilmembers in attendance agreed by consensus to promote Captain Jeff Katers as the next Chief of Police.

The Police Department organizational structure was also discussed as it relates to back-filling vacant positions.  The City Council asked that Captain Katers provide an opinion as to whether to keep the current organizational structure.  The organizational structure issue was reviewed with Captain Katers, and he is confident the current organization structure is the most effective structure to  meet the needs of the City at this time.  Captain Katers, and other City administrative staff will be on hand at the meeting to answer any questions the City Council may have in regard to the position or the organizational structure.  A diagram of the current organizational structure is attached.  

Next Steps:
Staff will conduct the internal back-filling process to replace Captain Katers' current position and any other vacancies that occur as a result.   Following this process, the City Council will be asked to authorize all applicable back-filling in the next several weeks.

Previously/Recent History:
By way of background, at the August 11, 2014 work-session, staff presented information regarding Police Chief Jim Way's upcoming retirement and options for filling the position. Staff indicated that Captain Jeff Katers is a qualified internal candidate for the position. The City Council, via a consensus, directed staff to conduct an internal recruitment, followed by an external recruitment if needed.  As a result, the following occurred: 1) Captain Jeff Katers submitted his letter of interest and resume, 2) staff conducted a Police Department survey seeking feedback regarding the future leadership of the Police Department, 3) the City Administrator met with Captain Katers to discuss the results of Police Department survey, the role of the position, and the City's expectations for this position going forward, and lastly 4) a comprehensive leadership assessment was conducted. Based on the findings of all four of these items, staff recommended considering Captain Jeff Katers for the position of Police Chief with the City of Ramsey. The interview panel was made up of the City Council, the City Administrator, the Fire Chief, Police Chief Philip Johanson from the the Anoka Police Department, and the Human Resources Manager.

The funding required for the Chief of Police position in 2015 is estimated to be $94,647 (wages only / for 11 months).

To make a motion, authorizing staff to move ahead with promoting Captain Jeff Katers to the position of Chief of Police with the City of Ramsey, effective February 1, 2015, at $49.64 per hour / $103,252 annually, which is step 4 of the wage scale.

Motion to adopt resolution #14-10-215 to promote Captain Jeff Katers to the position of Chief of Police with the City of Ramsey, effective February 1, 2015, at $49.64 per hour / $103,252  annually, which is step 4 of the wage scale.