Down to seven council members, there were no worries of voting ties at the Great Bend City Council meeting Tuesday night at the Great Bend Events Center. Mayor Dr. Mike Allison confirmed the 4-3 vote to reinstate suspended Great Bend Police Chief Cliff Couch.

Mike Allison Audio

Council member Dana Dawson made the motion to reinstate Couch, stating that problems existed between Couch and former City Administrator Howard Partington. Allison followed Dawson’s comment stating the problem was a situation where an employee (Couch) decided he did not have to do what his boss (Partington) asked him to do.

Couch was suspended with pay on July 24 and was awaiting a hearing regarding his suspension. His reinstatement will now nullify the need for the hearing.

Dawson, Brock McPherson, Cory Zimmerman, and Mike Boys all voted for the reinstatement. Along with Vicki Berryman and Joel Jackson, council member Allene Owen voted against the reinstatement because she wanted to address the allegations in the hearing that were made by Couch.

Allene Owen Audio

At the June 5 council meeting, Couch made allegations towards Partington and Allison for misconduct and unethical procedures. Partington eventually retired on August 16, after 36 years in the position, because of what he called malicious attacks towards him over a policy dispute. Council member Wayne Henneke resigned his Ward 2 position the following day quoting stress and turmoil in the city as reasons why.

The city council also voted 7-0 Tuesday night, in front of a packed room, to have a procedures audit to be conducted on the city from a certified public accounting firm, another motion presented by Dawson.

Dana Dawson Audio

Dawson stated the audit should be done to show the public that the council is listening and making an effort to have a clean slate. Dawson mentioned the audit will investigate the past 10 years of the Administrator’s Office, 10 years on city loans, five years on the Police Department, five years on the Street Department, and new surveys to all the departments. City Clerk Shawna Schafer said she was not sure how long it would take an auditor to conduct an audit of this nature, but estimated if an auditor sent three auditors with a standard rate of $250 an hour per auditor, it could cost roughly $6,000 a day. Dawson he went back on his initial request to have a forensic audit because he found out the process could cost north of $100,000.

The city council also voted 7-0 to make McPherson the next council president following Henneke’s resignation.

Allison appointed committees to interview applicants for Interim City Administrator, Fire Chief, and appoint a new council member to fill the vacant Ward 2 seat. Allison says so far two applications have been received for the administrator position, a few for the open council spot, and three internal applications for the Fire Chief position. Former Fire Chief Mike Napolitano’s retirement went into effect September 1, 2017 after 43 years with the Fire Department.