>>Valley Patriot>>
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* Valley
Patriot Editorial *
Methuen Councilors Should Butt Out
Last month,
Methuen city councilors tried to inject themselves into
the so-called controversy between Police Chief Joe
Solomon and the officers and union members under his
command.
What’s more, they tried to subvert the Methuen City
Charter by interfering with Mayor Bill Manzi’s
clearly defined duties as the chief executive officer of
the city.
Under the charter, the mayor is the sole authority on all
matters regarding personnel, including the hiring, firing
and discipline of all city employees. And while it is
true that the City Council must give approval for the
hiring and firing of department heads and a handfull of
other employees, nowhere in the charter does it give
councilors any say over whether or not the police chief
can be forced out of his job or even how he does his job.
Over his long career as a law enforcement officer, Joe
Solomon has served the city of Methuen honorably. And
because he has been a police officer for so many years,
it is not hard to imagine that he has made enemies with a
few politicians and perhaps even some members of the
community.
But everyone knows what is going on here. At least two
Methuen city councilors have a personal agenda against
the chief and they will use any excuse they can to
“get” him, or at least embarrass him publicly
if his removal is not possible.
Methuen City Councilors needs to butt out of the affairs
of the police chief and how he does his job. If Chief
Solomon has committed a crime, the district attorney will
investigate and prosecute him, not the City Council. If
Chief Solomon is deserving of disciplinary action
for violating a city ordinance or department policy, the
mayor and the mayor alone will make that determination,
not the City Council.
It’s time for certain city councilors to get
proactive about doing their own job and start putting
items on the agenda which will increase the quality of
life in Methuen, instead of interfering with the jobs of
the mayor and the police chief.
With all due respect, councilors, keep your personal
agendas away from the council table and out of the pulbic
light and do the job you were elected to do.
*Send your questions comments to ValleyPatriot@aol.com
The December, 2006
Edition of the Valley Patriot
The Valley Patriot is a Monthly
Publication.
All Contents (C) 2006, Valley Patriot, Inc.
We publish 10,000 newspapers and distribute in Andover,
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Beach, and Lowell.
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