COUNCIL OKs STUDY OF POLICE TURNOVER

Cape Girardeau will pay $43,569 to a Washington, D.C., firm to study the workings of the city's police department and assess why the force has seen a significant turnover in personnel.

The council approved the study at its meeting Monday night. Two councilmen, Richard Eggimann and Jay Purcell, voted against it.

Eggimann said he would have liked to see the city manager's office undertake such a study.

"I know the city manager is under a lot of pressure, and he says it would be difficult for him to do that from a personnel standpoint, but I firmly believe it should be done in-house," Eggimann said after the meeting.

He also said he was put off by the cost and uncertainty about what would be done with the study's recommendations.

"I'm not sure what we would do with the outcome," he said.

The city decided there was a need to examine why the police department is experiencing a significant turnover in officers. In 2000, six officers, with an average of 27 years of service, left the department.

The study will be done by the Police Executive Research Forum, a not-for-profit firm that provides professional support and consulting services to law enforcement agencies.

The money used to pay for the study will come from the department's Cash-Drug Forfeiture Account. The firm expects the study to take about 12 weeks.

City Manager Mike Miller said the study will be beneficial to the department.

"I think the Police Department is worth $43,000," he said. "And this firm will suggest ways of improving what we already have."

Hetzel said he welcomes the opportunity to work with the firm and pursuing its recommendations.

"Management studies are often used today by law enforcement agencies to identify problems within the departments and identify goals and objectives," he said. "Cape Girardeau has an excellent police department, but we find ourselves looking for outside direction."

Way paved for aircraft firm

In other business, the council approved a memorandum of understanding with aircraft manufacturer Renaissance Aircraft, paving way for the company to apply for state loans to help it set up shop in Cape Girardeau.

The company, which anticipates creating as many as 200 jobs, will manufacture a type of recreational aircraft known as Luscombe. The city has agreed to issue $2.1 million in bonds to help with the project. The company will pay those bonds back to the city over 20 years.