Weber City gets new police chief

WEBER CITY – Almost four months after firing a police chief, Weber City Town Council appointed a new chief Wednesday.Wednesday's action followed a motion and second by council members Jeff Flanary and Teresa Tilson to appoint Charles "Clay" Robinette chief at an annual salary of $75,000.Mayor Justin Addington cast a tiebreaker after Flanary, Tilson and Wendell voted aye and Keltie Kerney, Zackary Salyer and Eileen Deckard Roberts abstained.Before the vote, council met in closed session with Robinette for approximately an hour. Robinette left town hall before council returned to open session.A public hearing on town zoning ordinance changes regarding mobile homes was scheduled for Tuesday along with the regular council meeting. The council meeting was postponed to Wednesday, and council voted to reschedule the public hearing until the August regular meeting.Robinette's appointment follows the council's March vote to fire chief Don Harding III and another officer over allegations of fraudulent time sheets. Two trainee officers were also dismissed for a lack of certified officer to oversee their training.A subsequent investigation by the Virginia State Police and special prosecutor H. Fuller Cridlin found insufficient evidence of fraud by Harding and the first officer. Cridlin referred the issue back to town council as a town policy issue.Harding's dismissal left council looking at the possibility of a policing agreement with the Scott County Sheriff's Office. Kerney, who had led discussions with that department, told council after Robinette's vote that the sheriff's office was willing to consider a two-year agreement to supply deputies to handle town policing.A document released in June by Kerney – a list from Gate City Police Chief Terry Sivert of ways Gate City's police department could handle town policing – was the subject of a July 13 email from Gate City Town Manager Greg Jones to Kerney."The proposal regarding police services was not authorized by the Gate City Town Council," wrote Jones, "nor did it follow the appropriate process for intergovernmental agreements. I would ask that Weber City Town Council disregard it as an official proposal from the Town of Gate City."Four police vehicles – two Ford Crown Victorias and two Ford Explorers – will also be removed from the town's insurance coverage after Tilson moved and Salyer seconded to do so. Tilson said the four vehicles suffered from maintenance issues.A second closed session resulted in a vote by Flanary, Tilson, Tipton and Salyer to set Robinette's effective employment date as Aug. 1. Kerney and Deckard Roberts abstained.Robinette has 27 years' experience in law enforcement, Flanary said, including positions with the Scott County Sheriff's Office, East Tennessee State University campus police, Bristol Virginia and Gate City police departments.Flanary said Robinette was one of three candidates interviewed by council out of six applicants for the chief's post.Robinette will handle some patrolling in the town while starting to rebuild the town police department, said Tilson. Any recommendations to hire new officers will be considered by council, she added.