BELLE  —  Belle aldermen on March 14 held the first of two town hall meetings to discuss a proposition on the April ballot that would eliminate the elected marshal and create an appointed chief of police.

Aldermen Ken Stanfield and Fred Bethmann were in attendance along with Belle Mayor Josh Seaver and Maries County Sheriff Chris Heitman.

“The reason we’re here is to talk about Proposition 1,” said Seaver. “Which is putting before the voters to give the city of Belle, by statute, permission to eliminate the elected marshal position.”

Seaver said the plan to bring back the Belle Police Department has always been a primary goal and now the city has a chance to build a better local law enforcement department. 

“Our goal has always been, ever since we brought Maries County over, our goal has been to rebuild the Belle PD. Fully equip them. Train them. Make it better than it was before. This is a vital piece of that puzzle,” said Seaver. “We’re here to answer questions and explain where we’re at.”

Seaver told attendees that one of the biggest complaints he has heard against having an appointed chief of police is residents felt the board would have control over how law enforcement conducts business in town and that the chief could be fired for going against the board’s wishes.

“One of the things I’ve heard before was that it would be easy for the city to just fire whoever if he didn’t do what they wanted them to do. Like if my kid got picked up I’d fire him,” Seaver said. “These two statutes that you guys got copies of here, protect the chief of police from that. Essentially, they are state of Missouri statutes. They essentially say ‘no you can’t do that, you have to have just cause to get rid of them.’ That should dispel any of that.”

Seaver spoke about monetary issues the city has had with previous marshals not being able to stay within their budgets.

“We’ve had some budgetary issues over the years with marshals. I went back and looked all the way back to the nineties and could only find a handful of years, maybe six or seven years, in all that time where the Belle PD didn’t run over budget,” said Seaver. “I don’t know what happened all those years but I know what happened the last few years. I think everybody kind of knows what’s happened the last few years.”

 Seaver opened up the floor for questions and was asked how the marshal position would work since the only candidate that filed is currently unqualified.

“Under city ordinance, and I believe there are some state statutes involved there too, he has six months to complete the training. It would be on the city to pay for that,” said Seaver. “We don’t have a qualified candidate inside the city limits. That’s another reason this is the best option. Proposition 1 is the absolute best option for the city of Belle.”

Seaver clarified on Tuesday that it would be the city’s responsibility to pay the marshal’s wages while the official attends the academy.

“The question of whom is responsible for a noncertified marshal candidate’s training..my response was the city,” Seaver began. “I believe I spoke in error. The city would have to pay for his time, however, the actual police academy costs would be up to that particular candidate.”

Seaver said that the board has a plan in place to rebuild the police department that would take three to five years and that the ability to appoint a chief of police was key.  

“The first step is to be able to appoint a chief of police. So, if this passes in April, somewhere about Novemberish we’re going to be looking to hire. We’re under contract with (Maries County Sheriff’s Office) until February,” said Seaver. 

How would the city pay to rebuild the department was asked.

“Representative (Bruce) Sassman filed the bill for us to allow us to be able to put on the ballot a one-half of one percent sales tax, the same the city of Vienna did to fund their police department. Once that makes it through the state level we’ll be able to place that on the ballot. We have to get it passed through the city, the voters, to do that,” said Seaver.

Seaver said that the city still had all of its police equipment, including a patrol car.

“Here’s the thing. We’re going to build the Belle PD back whether this passes or not. It’s just the timing. We’re looking at three to five years. Three years, tentatively, to get the Belle PD back. It may not be fully functional. It may not be 24-hour coverage like we always talk about and always wanted but we’re going to have Belle police officers, in city of Belle cars, with city of Belle equipment, working for the city of Belle,” said Seaver. “Now if (Proposition 1) doesn’t pass and we end up with another elected marshal, it could be five to seven years. It’s going to happen one way or the another. We’re going to put the Belle PD back and that’s what we’ve always said from the getgo.”

Seaver told the small crowd of 10 citizens who he thought would be a perfect candidate for the chief of police position.

Seaver said, “My ideal candidate is a guy that’s in his late 40’s or early 50’s that’s been in law enforcement for several years and moving toward the end of his career. That’s the guy I’m looking for. Maybe he’s going to move to small-town Missouri from Kansas City; he’s tired of getting shot at in Kansas City so he’s going to move down here. He’ll be totally impartial. He won’t be beholden to anybody and won’t owe anybody a thing. He’s going to come down here and finish out his career. That’s the kind of guy I’m looking for.”

The second open forum is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on April 1 at the Belle-Bland Community Center.