Liberty Township trustees make bad situation worse

Why the rush to judgment? That question looms today in light of Monday night's action by the Liberty Township trustees not only to name an interim police chief, but to change the management structure of the controversy-ridden department.
The decision to appoint Ron Heineken, former police chief of the city of Kent, to temporarily fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Chief Michael Pilolli was proper because the police force does need a leader. But the other actions of trustees Jack Simon, Patrick Durina and Patricia Metzinger were ill-advised. They have prompted a declaration of war from William Wilson, president of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 65.
Why the rush to name Pilolli, who had served as police chief for three years, captain of detectives, especially after he was blamed in a hard-hitting independent review of the department for many of the problems that have resulted in low officer morale and an erosion of public confidence?
Demotion: Why the elimination of two captain slots and the demotion of Capts. James Cerenelli and Janet Virostek to sergeants when the departmental review by the Ohio Association of Chiefs of Police recommended that the township discuss retirement with Cerenelli and Virostek?
The trustees also abolished two junior sergeant positions, which resulted in Toby Meloro and Stephen Shimko reverting to the rank of patrol officer.
As Wilson commented Monday night, "Once again, in their rush to judgment, they have stepped all over the union contract."
But the possible violation of the union contract isn't the only concern we have about what occurred during the meeting of the board of trustees. We wonder when the police department management reorganization plan was developed.
The report from the Ohio Association of Chiefs of Police -- the association was invited by the trustees to conduct the review of the department -- was made public late last week and Pilolli submitted his letter of resignation on Friday. There wasn't a special meeting of the board of trustees between then and last night, so the question we ask is, how did the reorganization plan come about?
Was it developed by Simon, Durina and Metzinger, and if so, when did they get together to conduct that business? Was township Administrator Darlene St. George involved in the discussion?
Open meetings law: We raise those questions because Ohio's open meetings law does not permit a discussion about the reorganization of a government agency to be held behind closed doors.
And as we suggested in an editorial earlier this year, the input of the members of the police force and the residents of the township must be sought.
But last night, the trustees made a bad situation worse by their rush to judgment.