Chatsworth police detective position ditched in cutbacks (Updated 5:20 p.m.)

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November 2, 2012

Chatsworth police detective position ditched in cutbacks (Updated 5:20 p.m.)

Rachel Brown rachelbrown@daltoncitizen.com The Dalton Daily Citizen Fri Nov 02, 2012, 05:19 PM EDT

A long-time detective with the Chatsworth Police Department was let go in what officials said could be the first of several rounds of budget cuts for the city.

Jim Whitehead was let go Thursday because the city had to cut expenses and the position was no longer needed, said Chief Terry Martin. Martin initially said he let Whitehead go because of “personnel problems,” but declined to provide details. He said in a later interview on Friday that the decision was for financial reasons.

“He was not terminated, his position was done away with,” Martin said. “We can’t justify keeping a detective on and paying his salary and him not doing (much because of the city’s low crime rate). He was just let go on account of the job had been discontinued. He was laid off.”

A home phone number for Whitehead could not be found, and he didn’t immediately respond to a message left through his Facebook account. Whitehead has worked for the department for more than 20 years.

Alderman Fred Welch said Martin was asked to look at his budget and make cuts. Whitehead made close to $50,000 and was one of the top-paid officers, officials said.

Welch said officials in the coming weeks will meet with other department heads and examine ways to trim their budgets for the fiscal year that begins Jan. 1. A work session on Monday at City Hall begins at 5 p.m. and will be followed by a 6 p.m. meeting.

The city’s current budget is about $4 million, and about $1.2 million of that goes toward the police department, officials said. City officials voted about two months ago to lower the property tax rate from 2.342 mills in 2011 to 2.265 mills for 2012. A mill is $1 of tax for every $1,000 of property value.

Martin said eliminating Whitehead’s salary will leave the department with 12 patrol officers, a chief and no detectives. He said he eliminated a captain’s position in an earlier round of budget cuts.

Asked if there were issues with Whitehead, Martin said, “Jim was a good detective when we kept him busy, but everybody’s got issues. I’ve got issues, and all my other officers have got issues. We’re human beings. It’s really just doing away with positions as far as a detective goes.”

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Chatsworth police detective position ditched in cutbacks (Updated 5:20 p.m.)

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