After more than 25 years as the Deerwood police chief, Harry Gottsch told the Deerwood City Council he intends to retire early.
The council met in a special session Monday to discuss Gottsch's impending retirement, which he asked to be in effect by Jan. 31. In his proposal to the council, Gottsch asked for a severance package including 100 percent of his vacation pay, 100 percent of his sick pay and three years of family health insurance benefits, Mayor Mike Aulie said.
Aulie said Gottsch was entitled to 100 percent of his vacation pay and 50 percent of his sick pay, but could request more. Aulie estimated the cost of the insurance benefits would have exceeded $50,000, an expense he said the city of Deerwood could not commit to.
"Basically, we turned his proposal down," Aulie said. "But we left the door open for additional negotiations. ... Right now, it's back in his court."
When reached Tuesday, Gottsch elected not to comment, citing the ongoing negotiations.
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"We were a little bit surprised by his request for early retirement," Aulie said. "If he wishes to do that, we'll try to work with him. ... We were also concerned about setting a precedence with our retiring employees."
The announcement comes in the midst of two recent changes within the Deerwood Police Department, both pertaining to the same officer.
Aulie confirmed Tuesday that officer Damien Stalker was placed on administrative leave earlier this month while a complaint against him is under investigation. Details of the investigation are protected by data privacy laws while it is underway.
Just two weeks earlier, the council voted to elevate Stalker from a part-time position to full-time. Aulie said the move was a proactive one, in response to Stalker working enough hours to qualify for union benefits through the city's contract with the Teamsters Local 346, as well as for state laws governing public employment labor relations.
Stalker was first hired part-time in September 2013, when the Deerwood Police Department entered a contract with the city of Ironton to provide police services. The Crosby-Ironton Courier reported at a Jan. 4 Ironton City Council meeting, former Mayor Dean French expressed concern Ironton officials were not apprised of the issues within the Deerwood Police Department. French said he did not expect Ironton to be part of the decisionmaking concerning the issue, although a commission consisting of council representatives from both cities was formed to communicate about the police contract.
