Personality conflicts propel police chief’s resignation
DeGraff appoints acting chief

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A personality conflict between DeGraff Police Chief Todd Campbell and new Mayor Phil Fawcett led to the police chief’s resignation, according to the letter the police chief submitted to council.

“I believe Mayor Fawcett has made our disagreement personal and this was reinforced when Mayor Fawcett contacted the sheriff’s office for quotes to patrol the village,” he wrote in his resignation letter dated May 1. “I do not believe the hostile environment created by Mayor Fawcett will allow me to perform my duties and continue building the police department.”

Mayor Fawcett said Thursday he had specific reasons for asking that the police chief resign, but he would not say what those reasons were.

“I’ve stirred up a hornet’s nest by trying to do what I thought was right, but that’s as far as I’m going with it at this point,” he said.

In his letter, Chief Campbell said the mayor “undermined” his authority as chief, and attempted to take disciplinary action against him after the chief confronted the mayor during an April 15 council meeting.

Despite the police chief’s request to resign, three of the six council members voted not to accept the resignation during their Tuesday meeting. Mayor Fawcett then cast the tie-breaking vote in favor of allowing Chief Campbell to resign, according to minutes prepared by Fiscal Officer Linda Harford.

Sgt. George K. Piersall was then approved as acting chief.

Chief Campbell was making about $11,000 a year for 55 hours per month, Ms. Harford reported. He had voluntarily reduced his hours and salary in recent months from about $20,000 a year for 100 hours a month.

Chief Campbell was brought into the department in August by former Mayor Stephanie Orsborne. Mayor Fawcett began his term in January and the relationship was a rocky one, according to both the letter and Councilwoman Susie Smithers, one of the three who voted to accept the letter of resignation.

I think it’s a personality issue between the new mayor and the police chief,” Mrs. Smithers said. “That’s all right because Mayor Fawcett has a way in which he wishes things be accomplished and the police chief has another way.”

But she said she does not see the split vote as a sign that council is divided.

“We all have our own opinions, but we still work together as a council,” Mrs. Smithers said. “The six of us, we try to be as knowledgeable as we can, but we aren’t all ‘yes’ people. Nobody was mad after that.”

She said council will be looking to hire at least two to three part-time police officers to patrol the village.

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