Kalamazoo city manager apologizes for not disclosing that police chief was fired
Updated Dec 21, 2020;
Posted Dec 21, 2020
Kalamazoo City Manager Jim Ritsema listens as community activists ask question during a press conference at City Hall in Kalamazoo, Michigan on Sunday, Aug. 16, 2020. The press conference was held after protestors and counter protestors clashed in downtown Kalamazoo on Saturday, Aug. 15. (Joel Bissell | MLive.com)Joel Bissell | MLive.com
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KALAMAZOO, MI Kalamazoo City Manager Jim Ritsema apologized to the community for how his office withheld key information about former chief of public safety Karianne Thomas’s separation from the city.
Karianne Thomas was fired, the Kalamazoo Gazette confirmed in a story published in December, months after she left her position as public safety chief.
Dec 22, 2020
KALAMAZOO (WOOD-AM) - The city manager of Kalamazoo apologized during a commission meeting last night for not disclosing the firing of the city s public safety chief.
Jim Ritsema said the decision was in the best interest of the city.
It was announced over the summer that Karianne Thomas would step down, with a statement to the press noting that she was eligible for retirement after nearly three decades with the department.
Thomas will get a year of her $150,000 salary as severance.
Credit Andy Robins / WMUK
New Year s Eve revelers will be able to take alcoholic drinks into Kalamazoo s Bronson Park this year.
City have commissioners added the park to the city s new social district. It s intended to help downtown bars and restaurants survive COVID-19. But resident Jeff Messer says the move doesn t go far enough. Rather than picking winners and losers among liquor purveyors and their customers, the City Commission should just repeal all prohibitions.
Members of the city s parks board opposed the change. They say the city should revisit the issue before next summer.
City Commissioner Chris Praedel supports the change. He says it will help struggling downtown businesses like bars and restaurants, and their employees, get through the pandemic.
Thomas had served with KDPS as the Chief since 2017.
During a virtual meeting Monday night, City Manager Ritsema spoke on the matter, explaining why it had previously been said that she had resigned. The conversation began earlier in the meeting when an item was presented for approval, which would allow KDPS Assistant Chief of Investigations David Boysen to enter the Deferred Retirement Option Program (DROP).
According to city documents, KDPS members are eligible to retire with an unreduced pension at any age after 25 years of credited, or age 50 with 10 years of credited service. The program allows those approved to defer their retirement allowance for a specific period of time, as long as that period does not exceed eight years. Documents state that this program allows the city to “retain valuable, skilled employee’s and aid with succession planning.”
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