http://www.tricities.com/tristate/tr...7-14-0006.html

St. Paul Town Council ousted the police chief and gave no reason why

Saturday, Jul 14, 2007 - 01:40 AM

BY Kathy Still
Staff Writer

Four St. Paul Town Council members voted to fire the Wise County town's police chief but gave no reason for his ouster, Mayor Jack Kiser said Friday.

"I just think it's totally uncalled for," the mayor said of former chief Allen Porter's firing. "He's been with the town for 15 years. We've never had an official complaint on him."

Porter served as police chief since 2001 and worked as a town officer prior to taking the department's helm, Kiser said. He was fired Monday night.

"He's well-liked in the community, and he's a local person raised in the community," the mayor said.

The police chief's employment was not on the agenda of the Town Council session Monday night.

"It caught me off guard," Kiser said. "If he'd done something, I'd have been the first to say he needs to go. To my knowledge, he's never done anything wrong."

According to the town's charter, the police chief and some other municipal workers serve at the will of the Town Council.

Kiser said it is normal for the appointments to be made or reaffirmed just after a new council is elected. It is unusual to make changes in mid-term, he said.

"It's politics," the mayor said. "They didn't give any reason."

Kiser, as mayor, only has a vote when the six council members deadlock on an issue. The vote Monday night was 4-1 in favor of the firing, he said.

Councilwoman Rita McReynolds was not at the meeting, and Councilman Kenneth Holbrook voted against the firing.

Council members Blake Whitenack, Steven Stewart, Henry Kelly and James Short voted to terminate Porter.

The four who voted to oust Porter could not be reached for comment Friday. Attempts to contact Porter were also unsuccessful.

Some on the council have been at odds over employee raises, local fees and tax issues following the last municipal election.

"The next election is a year off," Kiser said. "The voters will either vote somebody out, vote somebody in or leave it like it is."

McReynolds said the Town Council has been embroiled in a political spat for a while now. She is bothered that the police chief issue was not on the agenda.

"In the past, we had all tried to adhere to the rule of not discussing things that were not on the agenda," she said. "I wasn't at the meeting, but I've since heard that it was pretty much a done deal.

"Allen is a very good man with no problems that I know of. It's OK that we are outvoted on everything, but some compassion for the employees would be nice."

The Town Council could appoint a new chief when it holds a continuation of its Monday session at 5 p.m. Thursday, Town Clerk Kathy Ferguson said.

Ferguson confirmed that the police chief issue was not on the council's agenda for Monday's meeting.

"Nobody had any idea that it was coming," she said. "It was just a shock."