PSB chair hasn’t decided if he’ll apply for re-appointment
Applications due next week for citizen’s appointee position
Peterborough Police Services board chairman Bob Hall, whose term has expired, says he hasn’t decided yet whether he’ll apply for re-appointment – even though applications are due next week.
“I truly haven’t submitted – and I truly haven’t decided,” he said on Tuesday, adding that he will speak with family before making up his mind.
Hall, a teacher and a former city councillor, has been on the board for about three and half years. He’s been chairman for most of that time.
He’s the citizens’ appointee: that means he must apply, alongside any other citizens who might want the job, and then city council gets the final say on who is chosen.
The deadline for application is Dec. 14. The terms hold until 2022.
The application form is available online on the city’s website. A resume and cover letter is re--
quired.
Mayor Diane Therrien and Coun. Gary Baldwin are the council members on the police board.
Baldwin replaces former councillor Dan McWilliams, and Therrien replaces former mayor Daryl Bennett.
Hall said that although his term is over, he must remain on the board until either he’s reappointed or someone new is appointed by council in his place.
The police services board meets next on Dec. 18.
Hall has chaired the committee through tumultuous times: the Ontario Civilian Police Commission (OCPC) wrote in a report in late 2016 that the board was “dysfunctional” and had been in crisis for a year.
The OCPC appointed a top criminal lawyer to oversee the board’s meetings for the first six months of 2017.
The OCPC stated in its orders that the board has been struggling with a series of "highly public disputes", including a contractual dispute between the board and the former Chief of Police Murray Rodd (now retired) and Deputy Chief Tim Farquharson (still on the job).
The OCPC had also suspended Daryl Bennett from the board, who was mayor at the time, over allegations of misconduct.
Bennett was investigated by the OCPC and found guilty - but later freed from almost all blame and told he could return to the board (which he did, late in 2017).
Hall said on Tuesday he enjoyed his last three years as chairman of the board nonetheless.
“It’s a great learning experience and a wonderful team,” he said, adding that front-line officers in Peterborough do “a firstrate job.”
“They go beyond the call of duty,” Hall said.
To apply for a citizen appointment with the city, visit http:// www.peterborough.ca .