The Madison City Council is expected to swear in a fifth member tonight to the stalled commission responsible for selecting the city's chief of police. But despite delays and gripes expressed by the president of the police officers' union, a final appointment is not expected for several weeks.
According to Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, the City Council will confirm Shiva Bidar-Sielaff's appointment to the vacant seat on the Police and Fire Commission, a board of citizens charged with finding a replacement for former Chief Richard Williams who retired in April.
After considering applications from within the department, the Police and Fire Commission was originally expected to name a permanent chief by the beginning of August, said Scott Favour, president of the Madison Professional Police Officer's Association. Officers then expected an appointment by early September, but now Favour said it will be at least the middle of October before Madison has an official police chief.
Although Favour complimented the work of Acting Police Chief Noble Wray, he said key deadlines are approaching on administrative business and officers are anxious for the search to be over.
\We'd just like to get it finished, get it done with so we know who's going to be the chief,"" Favour said.
A number of promotions are due in several ranks of the force, Favour said. Also, the police department budget must be drafted with operating costs sliced by 1 percent.
Although Wray announced last week he will move ahead on addressing those administrative matters, Favour said the acting chief has been slow to fill positions out of respect to other nominees for the job.
In addition to Wray, the Police and Fire Commission is considering the applications of Capt. Cheri Maples and Sgt. Mike Koval.
Scott Herrick, attorney for the Police and Fire Commission, said the commission has not been pressured to rush to a decision and that the selection process has moved slowly so that each candidate can be thoroughly evaluated.
""It's more important to make the decision correctly than to make the decision quickly,"" he said.
The addition of Bidar-Sielaff to the Police and Fire Commission is expected to break a commission deadlock with two commissioners pulling for one nominee and two commissioners pulling for another, Verveer said.
Although the fifth seat has been vacant for months, Mayor Dave Cieslewicz appointed Bidar-Sielaff to the Police and Fire Commission just last week.
""I think the mayor was trusting that they would be able to come to some kind of consensus, but they haven't been able to do that,"" Favour said.
