Portland to lose another officer

Already shorthanded from retirements, Portland Police Department is losing another officer.

Police chief Josh Stephenson told city council at its meeting Monday that officer Jagg Nuñez is resigning effective Feb. 11.

Nuñez is a full-time officer and graduated from the police department last year, Stephenson said. His departure comes in the midst of Sgt. Steve Schlechty planning to retire at the end of the month. The following month, officer Brandon McDavid will be spending the spring attending the police academy, creating another absence.

Add that to police chief Nathan Springer and communications chief Paula Bonvillian, both of whom retired in January, and there’s quite a few holes to fill for Stephenson, who is entering his second month as chief.

And for the rest of his department, it’s a struggle to use any unused vacation time from 2020.

“I’m forced to make my officers work 12-hour shifts,” Stephenson said while successfully lobbying council to extend the period officers can use their 2020 vacation time.

City employees now have until June 30 to use vacation time from last year after council voted to amend the city handbook. Previously, council extended it to March 31. As of now, this year’s vacation time will still have to be used by the end of the year.

Just last week, Dunkirk City Council voted to pay its city’s police officers $3,775 for unused vacation time from 2020. An extension allows city employees to use it or lose it.

“We’re not out anything by extending it,” said council president Kent McClung, noting that money for vacation time was already appropriated from the previous year’s budget.

Stephenson said there are two full-time police officers he plans to hire to the department, but that the earliest they can be hired is early March because of the pension board having to approve their employment, among other requirements.

He is expected to present two potential new hires — one a code enforcement officer and the other a dispatcher — at the city’s board of works meeting Thursday.

In other business, council members Don Gillespie, Matt Goldsworthy, Michele Brewster, Dave Golden, Mike Aker and McClung, absent Janet Powers:

•Made a final $237,593 payment to PWTech for the construction of a new screw press at the city’s wastewater treatment plant. Council also voted to pay $1,008 to Jones & Henry Engineers LTD for the design of that new screw press.

•Paid $1,181,936.83 in claims.