City Council Approves Police Force Restructuring

The Effingham City Council Tuesday approved a major restructuring of the city police department.

Under the changes, the current sergeants on the police force will become lieutenants and will receive an accompanying bump in pay. The one exception will be the sergeant who will be named Deputy Police Chief. Police Chief Jeff Fuesting will name the Deputy Chief, as the law directs. Another change is that the deputy chief and the lieutenants will be outside the appointment resolution. The change will allow Fuesting more flexibility in how many lieutenants will work at a given time, which will allow staffing more officers during peak enforcement times and fewer during less busy times.

Another change is that the current corporals will be promoted to sergeants. The corporal rank will be eliminated, and the sergeants will be paid at the former corporal's pay rate.

One other change requires police officers to live within "15 miles of the city limits", rather than "15 minutes" as had been the standard.

The Council also approved a Memorandum of Understanding with the Fraternal Order of Police local that represents Effingham police officers. The FOP members on the force voted 18-2 in favor of the changes.

City Administrator Jim Arndt said the changes would be a money saver for the city.