Audit examines College Place police staffing

Recent and impending retirements of College Place Police Department officers, along with the future plans of longtime Police Chief Dennis Lepiane, are among questions raised by a recent audit of the department.

The audit by the city’s insurer, Clear Risk Solutions of Ephrata, was completed in November after being requested by City Administrator Pay Reay in August. Reay said it was done by the insurer at no cost to the city.

Manpower needs and “succession planning” were among the 10 areas examined by Dean Mitchell, the investigator with Clear Risk Solutions who performed the audit. Mitchell wrote that he visited College Place on Sept. 29-30 and interviewed Lepiane along with current and former College Place police officers, local law enforcement officials and others for the audit. He also reviewed numerous documents.

Reay said the city is “looking at succession issues” because the recent or impending retirement of officers up to and including Lepiane, who has been chief of the department for almost 39 years.

“It was clear we needed to bring in a third party to look at where we are going,” he said about the audit.

Mitchell wrote that he asked Lepiane “what his long-term plans were,” and that Lepiane “informed me he intends to quit the police department, but not retire from working.”

Chief Lepiane, Mitchell added, “explained his intentions are to find another occupation soon, but he declined to offer a time frame. (Lepiane) made no mention of preparing for his replacement as chief.”

However, Lepiane said in a Union-Bulletin interview that he has no recollection of making that statement to Mitchell. He also said that there are a number of things in the audit that he disputes, but he declined to comment further on the audit

The retirement of two sergeants last fall has created “a significant liability issue” for the department, Mitchell wrote. In addition to the two sergeants’s positions, three of the eight commissioned officers now employed are senior officers will be eligible for retirement and will likely retire within five years, the audit said.

The department has nine commissioned personnel consisting of seven patrol offices, one detective and Lepiane. The manning level is “significantly” less than state average of 1.24 commissioned officers per 1,000 residents, the audit said.

Reay said the city is moving to replace the two sergeants as soon as possible, but the process is a lengthy one and was significantly delayed by the need to reappoint one member for the city’s three-member Civil Service Commission as well as advertise for an applicant to fill a vacant seat.

The position was advertised in January and Mayor Julie Scott made the reappointment and appointment this month. One seat on the commission remains vacant Reay said.

The commission recommends the top candidates to the city for civil service positions, such as police officers, based on competitive civil service test scores.

Along with the issues of manpower and succession planning, the audit also examined issues with administrative responsibilities, training needs, technology/communications, policies and procedures, personnel records, evidence/property room management, first level supervision (supervisory role of sergeants) and interaction with other law enforcement agencies and community interaction.

This story was originally published February 28, 2016 at 10:39 PM with the headline "Audit examines College Place police staffing."