Langfelder said that it would amount to a $7,000 raise, the maximum allowable without city council approval. Winslow, who wasn’t available for comment, earned $145,433 last year. The mayor said that if Winslow leaves, he’ll pick a replacement from within the police department.
Mayor Jim Langfelder says he'll pick a new chief from within ranks if Chief Kenny Winslow follows through on plans to leave.
The mayor said that he expects Winslow to decide by week’s end whether he’ll stay in Springfield. The city of Franklin last Thursday announced that Winslow will become deputy chief in charge of field operations and special operations and was one of 78 applicants. The mayor said that Winslow applied for the job “on a whim.”
The mayor’s remarks came in a question-and-answer session with reporters after Tuesday’s city council committee of the whole meeting. A few minutes before acknowledging that he has offered Winslow a 5% raise, the mayor declined to say how much money he has offered the chief. “That’s undecided as of yet,” the mayor first answered when asked how much money was on the table in an effort to keep Winslow.
The mayor said that Bloomington pays top cops more than Springfield does, and the city needs to address the issue regardless of what happens with Winslow. “What’s happening or will be happening is, people won’t be willing to serve in the ranks,” Langfelder says.
The mayor said that Winslow notified him last Thursday that he’d accepted a position in Tennessee and that he has spoken with the chief on Friday and again this week. His apparent departure comes on the heels of fire chief Allen Reyne retiring effective Dec. 1 on two weeks’ notice. Winslow is scheduled to start work in Tennessee on Jan. 19, according to a press release issued by Franklin.
Langfelder says Springfield residents shouldn’t be concerned that the city’s police and fire chiefs are quitting. The mayor did say, however, that he’s concerned about fire inspectors who recently have told bar and restaurant owners that propane heaters aren’t allowed in tents set up to accommodate customers while still complying with public health orders banning inside service. Restaurants have been using such heaters since last fall.
“I’ve been to functions, you know weddings, and so forth for years, and you had these systems set up and they’ve worked and then, all of a sudden, now, there’s a concern about it,” Langfelder said. “It’s a head scratcher.”
Is it a coincidence that the apparent shift in position on propane heaters coincides with former fire chief Allen Reyne retiring effective a week ago?
“That’s a good question,” Langfelder answered. “That’s one I will ask them, because I thought the same thing. You have a new chief and now you have inspectors that, you don’t want inspectors feeling emboldened. I mean, that’s very concerning, and it doesn’t matter if it’s a building or zoning inspector or fire inspectors. (W)e’re here to help people, and that’s the frustrating part I have as mayor, because you have departments that are supposed to work through things.”
Contact Bruce Rushton at brushton@illinoistimes.com.
