By Sue Moore
A new police chief is in the works for the village of Vicksburg, according to Village Manager Jim Mallery. He received 49 applications, narrowed them down to five to interview, then to two for final interviews with a recommendation to come to the council at its next meeting.
“The caliber of the candidates was very impressive,” said Trustee Tim Frisbie. He and several other citizens were invited to participate in the interviews. Eric West, the long-time police chief, was not offered a contract once his duties were up on June 30.
At a special meeting in July, council members approved a five-year contract for Mallery. It contains a 2.2-percent pay raise, a small increase in an allowance for truck and phone expenses and a severance package should the need arise. Mallery initiated a change to his pension plan by asking the council to contribute to a defined contribution pension plan instead of the defined benefit plan that the village had contributed to for prior village managers, thus saving the village several thousand dollars per year.
Work on the new water main that is to run the length of Boulevard Street on the west side of the village was slowed when a gas line was hit slightly by the construction crew. It was immediately fixed by Consumers Power and will not hold up the end-of-July completion date, Mallery said. The village will be conducting flow tests once the valve is turned on before water is piped to residents in the west-side housing developments.