The City of Antioch has announced a possible ordinance change that would allow for the city council to have control to appoint, supervise and remove the Antioch Police Chief.
The notice of public hearing has been issued for the August 8 Antioch City Council Meeting which if approved, would transfer authority over supervision of the police chief from the city manager, to the city council.
“The proposed Ordinance changes the organization structure of the city’s administration by transferring, from the City Manager, to the City Council, the authority to appoint, supervise, and remove the Chief of Police.”
This move has been telegraphed since 2020 when the City Council first made the suggestion citing accountability and transparency. At the March 30 Press Conference, Mayor Lamar Thorpe announced he had no problem making administrative changes in the City of Antioch, which included the chief of police. At the press conference, it became clear the mayor and police chief we not talking or had any sort of relationship–especially during the media Q&A portion of the press conference.
It was again discussed at its April 2023 meeting (see preview of meeting) where Mayor Lamar Thorpe, Mayor Pro Tem Tamisha Torres-Walker and Councilwoman Monica Wilson all agreed to direct staff to prepare the ordinance. Councilmembers Mike Barbanica and Lori Ogorchock opposed the move.
Under the Antioch City Council, they have not been able to staff the city of Antioch as they have nearly 90-vacant positions within the city–mostly attributed to the Mayor and city council leadership style and micromanaging according to several sources who have left the city.
Since 2020, the Antioch City Council has had five city managers:
- Ron Bernal – opted to retire.
- Cornelius Johnson – placed on leave before resigning
- Ana Cortez – acting for several days
- Forrest Ebbs – acting/left for Modesto
- Kwame Reed – acting
The Council has also gone through multiple police chiefs since 2020:
- Tammany Brooks – retired/hired in Boise, ID
- Captain Tony Morefield was named interim police chief
- Dr. Steve Ford was hired in April 2022 and in July 2023 announced retirement
Other Separations:
Antioch’s assistant city manager left for Piedmont while the assistant city attorney resigned. Meanwhile, its public works director was terminated, only to sue the city and win a settlement.
Recent Separations at City of Antioch
In June, the assistant city attorney resigned and Antioch Mayor Lamar Thorpe stated the city had more than 80 vacancies.
From April City Council Meeting
CONSIDERATION OF A CHANGE TO THE CITY ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE BY TRANSFERRING, FROM THE CITY MANAGER TO THE CITY COUNCIL, THE AUTHORITY TO APPOINT, SUPERVISE, AND REMOVE THE CHIEF OF POLICE
It is recommended that the City Council provide direction to staff regarding whether to prepare an ordinance changing the organizational structure of the City’s administration by transferring, from the City Manager to the City Council, the authority to appoint, supervise, and remove the Chief of Police
City Council’s Statutory Authority
City councils are granted wide latitude in deciding how a city will be administered and operated. The Government Code provides a city council with the statutory authority to appoint and remove the chief of police. (Gov. Code, § 36505; Gov. Code, § 36506.) A city council can also adopt a city manager form of government and vest the authority, by ordinance, in the city manager to appoint and remove the chief of police and other subordinate appointive officers and employees, except the city attorney. (Gov. Code, § 34856.)
The City of Antioch currently operates under a city council-city manager form of government. The ordinance establishes the authority of the City Manager and vests the authority to appoint, remove, and supervise the Chief of Police. In the city council-city manager form of government, the city council conducts policymaking functions, approves the budget and certain decisions, and supervises the city manager and the city attorney.
The chief of police is generally appointed and supervised by the city manager.In some cities, the city council appoints department heads, including the chief of police.
Under this organizational structure, the chief of police reports directly to the city council, but many routine day-to-day police department issues may be coordinated by the city manager. In this way, more routine matters are handled by the city manager and the city council has a more direct relationship with the chief of police. An example of this structure is found in the City of Fullerton, CA, where the Chief of Police is appointed by and serves at the pleasure of the City Council. (Ord. 3185,§ 2, 2012)
The City of Antioch Has a Council-City Manager Form of Government
The City of Antioch has a council-city manager organizational structure. The City Manager is responsible to the City Council for the efficient administration of all the affairs of the City that are under his control. The City Manager exercises control over all departments and divisions of the City government and over all appointive officers and employees, except as provided by local, state, or federal law. The City Manager has power, subject to the City personnel rules, to employ, discipline, or remove all heads of departments or subordinate officers and employees, to transfer employees from one department to another, and to consolidate or combine offices, positions, departments, or units under his or her jurisdiction.
The Police Oversight Standing Committee Previously Considered Transferring the Authority to Appoint and Remove the Chief of Police from the City Manager to the City Council
In 2021, the City Council explored the idea of changing the authority of the City Manager to hire and remove the Chief of Police. At the October 26, 2021 meeting of the Police Oversight Standing Committee, Mayor Thorpe, Mayor Pro Tem Wilson and Council Member Torres-Walker requested a working draft of the Police Chief hiring process that includes the following: an external recruitment pool, one representative from each district involved in the hiring process, the City Council’s ability to ratify the contract prior to hiring. Notably, the City Council expressed interest in transferring authority from the City Manager to the City Council to make the final decision regarding hiring of a police chief.
At the November 23, 2021 meeting, former City Manager Ron Bernal prepared a staff report on the City’s “Police Chief Recruitment and Hiring Process”. Councilmember Barbanica made a motion to approve the policy prepared by City Manager Bernal. The motion was seconded by Councilmember Ogorchock, but it failed with only Councilmembers Barbanica and Ogorchock voting in favor of it. Mayor Pro Tem Wilson and Councilmember Torres-Walker voted against the motion. Mayor Thorpe was absent.
At the end of that meeting, Councilmember Torres-Walker requested a Municipal Code review of the police chief appointment process to include the City Council.
Transferring the Appointment Supervision, and Removal Authority for the Chief of Police from the City Manager to the City Council Would Require Amending the Antioch Municipal Code
The existing structure of the city council-city manager form of government is established by ordinance. Therefore, the Antioch City Council would need to adopt an ordinance amending the City’s municipal code if it desired to change the reporting structure of the Chief of Police. A new ordinance could remove the existing authority of the City Manager with regard to the Chief of Police position and vest the authority to appoint, supervise, and remove the Chief of Police in the City Council.
Supervision and Performance Evaluation of the Chief of Police
The Chief of Police is currently supervised by the City Manager. If the Chief of Police were to report directly to the City Council, then the City Council would supervise the Chief and evaluate his performance. This authority would be vested in the City Council as a whole. The procedure for supervising this position could include annual, semi-annual, and/or as-needed performance evaluations. If the City Council desires to maintain closer oversight, the City Council could meet more regularly for this purpose. It would also be exercised by the City Council as a whole via noticed closed and open session public meetings.
Under this reporting structure, the City Manager, City Attorney, and Chief of Police would all report to the City Council. Therefore, the City Council may wish to consider the extra workload for an additional direct report. That being said, a direct reporting relationship between the City Council and the Chief of Police may support enhanced communication and alignment between the City Council and the Police Chief.
On the other hand, if the City Council elects to retain the current reporting relationship between the City Manager and the Chief of Police, the City Manager could include community-provided information in the evaluation the Police Chief.
The California League of Cities, in its Mayors and Council Members Resource Guide, describes the importance of the relationship between the City Council and Police Department as follows:
“The internal policies and procedures of the [police] department are determined by the police chief and need to be consistent with the law and policies of the city manager or city administrator and the council. Since the police function is primarily concerned with a broad range of order maintenance activities and with the provision of services to the community, these matters are clearly local concerns requiring responsiveness to the public and accountability to community priorities. Coordination of services, development of priorities, and maintenance of a balance between the services offered and the financial resources of the community require that the agencies delivering the services be responsible to the public. The determination of what services a police agency will provide, what priorities will exist, and what police responses will be sanctioned are proper decisions for the city council. A police department exists within a political arena, and a city council can be asked to answer to the electorate based on the actions of the police department. It is therefore, important that a police department understand its connection and relationship within this political arena.”
The City Council may also be well positioned to evaluate the effectiveness of the police department by soliciting input from their respective constituencies. The City Council has extensive relationships that position them to understand the perception of the police by diverse communities of residents, the business community, the faith-based community,
and by other communities and individuals interacting with law enforcement. For example, the presence of officers on “Patrol” assignment on the streets may be perceived differently by different segments of the community; for some it may suggest comforting security, but others may view it as intimidating. Certain statistical measurements may suggest varying degrees of productivity, but these may be counter to the community’s perception.
- June 30, 2023: Antioch City Manager Cornelius Johnson Resigns
- June 23, 2023: Kwame Reed Named Acting Antioch City Manager
- June 14, 2023: Acting Antioch City Manager Puts in Notice
- Feb 17, 2023: Antioch Assistant City Manager Could Be Headed to Piedmont
The meeting is at 7:00 pm on August 8, 2023.
16 comments
“City Council first made the suggestion citing accountability and transparency”
GTFOH, Antioch will be lucky to have anyone want to actually take over that police department and work with that goon Council.
Too funny!!
Endless entertainment
I honestly believe this city council wants a weak city manager so the mayor can control every position and hire.
Could a city employee technically file a hostile work environment towards a council member who votes for this? If it can be proven the Mayor and whatever councilperson are making decisions affecting their employment. There’s evidence and history of Thorpe overstepping his authority. This stuff can come into play when things like disciplinary action is taken against an employee.
The Antioch City Council cannot even handle their own responsibilities but now they want to control the police chief position? Please Antioch, vote these clowns out!
How and what exactly does their proposed supervision help or improve? They can’t supervise what’s already on their plate as evidenced by the state of things in Antioch. Guess they won’t be satisfied until they’ve sufficiently mucked things up and leave a heap of dung on the floor for someone else to clean up.
This would be the final nail in the coffin.
478 Incorporated cities in California and only one city has the City Council oversee the Police Chief. Major mistake by three councilmembers. Look at current history of Antioch unable to hire key employees. Mayor Thorpe you are an elected Mayor and lucky for everyone in Antioch you are not a Strong Mayor. Keep the City Manager style of leadership in Antioch.
Which city is this? This is a very good point to drive. What makes Antioch and the Mayor so special.
Nothing makes them special. What makes them destructive is the perception they have of themselves and their short-sighted, limited agenda that’ll continue to make a mess of things until they’re voted out, starting with the controlling, petulant “mayor.”
The article states City of Fullerton
Shouldn’t counsel members and city officials that make major decisions have to pass a psych eval, IQ test and a criminal and financial background to qualify for their jobs?
Thorpe needs to be RECALLED!
Antioch is a total disaster. Even worse than Oakland now. Hmmmmmm, let’s look at the the “similarities” in their “leadership”. Shocker!!!! Hahahaha
The fact is the mayor and council change. This should be voted on by the citizens in a regular election
RECALL THORPE RECALL. WHAT A F@#$ING JOKE. RECALL THE MAYOR.
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