Monday night, the Peoria Police Benevolent Association took a vote of no confidence in Police Chief Steve Settingsgaard:

In dispute, according to police sources, is a proposal by Settingsgaard to move to staggered shifts, which would put more officers out on the streets at shift change but would tweak the hours of the three primary shifts – first, second and third – something the union says would cost the city more money, create headaches for those in charge of making the schedules and disturb the schedules of officers’ families. Also being challenged is the idea to appoint supervisors to new assignments without opening up the bid process to other qualifying supervisors with more seniority, meaning those with more time on the job would lose the ability to bid for shifts and days off.

The article also states that since May 2005, “the union has filed between 30 and 40 grievances against him for various alleged contract violations.” The vote was 187-24.

Here’s the press release of Chief Settingsgaard’s response:

As has been much publicized, the Peoria Police Benevolent Board held a No Confidence Vote on Monday, September 22, 2008. The Board has since publicized the outcome of the vote with 187 members voting against the Chief, and 24 voting in favor of the Chief. This is an important issue not only for the police and our internal operations, but for the citizens we serve as well. It is critical that both the community and the officers understand the nature of the issues, my rationale for the decisions I must make, and how they may impact police service.

The No Confidence Vote as well as many of the grievances that have been filed during my tenure are in great part related to how we as the police staff our community. As the Chief, I bear the responsibility of balancing the needs of the community against the needs of individual officers. Unfortunately there are times when the public’s need and the officer’s personal interests are in direct conflict with each other. I must then weigh these conflicting interests and decide a course of action that seeks the greatest good. Sometimes I am able to find reasonable compromise and satisfy both and sometimes I am not. Sometimes I must ask the officers to put aside their own interests and make sacrifices for the good of the people they serve. This burden comes with leadership and to lead, I must make these decisions even when I know it will make me unpopular among my own officers. I do not ask the officers to make reasonable accommodations and adjust to change because I want to; I ask this of them because I must.

I am disappointed that the Benevolent Board chose to take a No Confidence Vote rather than rely on the agreed upon processes to resolve these types of disputes. I am disappointed in the manner in which the vote was held as I am told that some officers were pressured to vote over the phone, sacrificing their right to anonymity. What is done is done and now it must be dealt with so that we can all move on.

The most critical thing for the public to understand at this point is that this dispute will have no impact on their safety nor does it reduce the commitment of our police officers to serve. Our Peoria Police Officers are the most highly skilled and highly professional officers I have ever known. They have not, and will not give anything but their very best to the community that they serve, even in circumstances like the current. While we work thorough these unfortunate but necessary conflicts, both my management team and the officers continue to serve proudly. As for my performance as the Chief, I will continue to pursue positive change and seek to improve our service, and I will not leave well enough alone because well enough is not good enough. I owe this to the community; I owe it to my officers.

Today’s Journal Star reports, “Today, the union plans to release a more detailed statement – seven to 10 pages, Skaggs said – addressing the union’s concerns.”