How Big Of A Difference
The ORC 737.19 (A) states ''The marshal of a village has exclusive authority over the stationing and transfer of all deputies, officers, and employees within the police department of the village, under the general RULES that the mayor prescribes.''
You use the term ''guidelines'' the online version of the ORC uses ''rules'' and the Ordinance as written uses the term ''orders''. I wrote the Ordinance and used the term that I had heard used in the past and that was ''Orders''.
Orders are defined as - ''An authoritative indication to be obeyed; a command or direction.''
Rules are defined as - ''An authoritative, prescribed direction for conduct, especially one of the regulations governing procedure in a legislative body or a regulation observed by the players in a game, sport, or contest.''
Guidelines are defined as - ''A statement or other indication of policy or procedure by which to determine a course of action.''
I do not see a huge difference between rules and orders. The key term is ''general''. There has been a lot of discussion about the general orders written by the Mayor and what it can entail.
As an example, the Mayor can write that he wants the Chief to see that there is increased third shift coverage. That would be a general order. What the Mayor cannot do is tell the Chief to work third shift. That would be very specific and not a general order.
The other important issue is that the orders have to be written. I do not know if they were written in the past and possibably someone can enlighten us to that fact. I know now that they must be written and the Chief can be held accountable to them.
I had a discussion with a former Mayor of the Village and he stated that he had threatened the Chief with having to work third shift if something or other did not change. In my opinion that would be a specific order and that the Mayor could not dictate that to the Chief as the Chief is responsbile for the stationing of all officers. I would support the Chief in that position because I believe that the Mayor would have been outside his powers.
I want the current Chief and future Chiefs to understand that they are in a very important position and I want to see that they are given the tools and latitude to do their job properly and without interference by the Mayor or Council.
That does not mean that the Mayor and Council are not involved in overseeing the Police Department, it just means that they have to do so in their respective realms of authority. The Mayor oversees the Chief and prescribes his general rules. The Council has the financial responsibility to see that the needs of the Police Department are met.
I hope that explains a little about the different terms and that in my opinion there is not the huge difference that you may believe exists.
The ORC 737.19 (A) states ''The marshal of a village has exclusive authority over the stationing and transfer of all deputies, officers, and employees within the police department of the village, under the general RULES that the mayor prescribes.''
You use the term ''guidelines'' the online version of the ORC uses ''rules'' and the Ordinance as written uses the term ''orders''. I wrote the Ordinance and used the term that I had heard used in the past and that was ''Orders''.
Orders are defined as - ''An authoritative indication to be obeyed; a command or direction.''
Rules are defined as - ''An authoritative, prescribed direction for conduct, especially one of the regulations governing procedure in a legislative body or a regulation observed by the players in a game, sport, or contest.''
Guidelines are defined as - ''A statement or other indication of policy or procedure by which to determine a course of action.''
I do not see a huge difference between rules and orders. The key term is ''general''. There has been a lot of discussion about the general orders written by the Mayor and what it can entail.
As an example, the Mayor can write that he wants the Chief to see that there is increased third shift coverage. That would be a general order. What the Mayor cannot do is tell the Chief to work third shift. That would be very specific and not a general order.
The other important issue is that the orders have to be written. I do not know if they were written in the past and possibably someone can enlighten us to that fact. I know now that they must be written and the Chief can be held accountable to them.
I had a discussion with a former Mayor of the Village and he stated that he had threatened the Chief with having to work third shift if something or other did not change. In my opinion that would be a specific order and that the Mayor could not dictate that to the Chief as the Chief is responsbile for the stationing of all officers. I would support the Chief in that position because I believe that the Mayor would have been outside his powers.
I want the current Chief and future Chiefs to understand that they are in a very important position and I want to see that they are given the tools and latitude to do their job properly and without interference by the Mayor or Council.
That does not mean that the Mayor and Council are not involved in overseeing the Police Department, it just means that they have to do so in their respective realms of authority. The Mayor oversees the Chief and prescribes his general rules. The Council has the financial responsibility to see that the needs of the Police Department are met.
I hope that explains a little about the different terms and that in my opinion there is not the huge difference that you may believe exists.
