Madison, Wis. – The chair of the city’s Police Civilian Oversight Board, Devon Snyder, warned that unclear rules governing the board’s authority are creating friction with the Common Council and harming the community. Snyder emphasized that when the board and council are at odds, residents suffer.
Dispute Over Interim Monitor
The conflict escalated after the council terminated interim Independent Police Monitor Aeiramique “Meeka” Glass in October. The board argues the council lacked authority to remove Glass because the 2020 ordinance assigns hiring and supervision of the monitor to the board.
City Attorney Michael Haas counters that the council could end Glass’s provisional appointment, noting it had approved the extension. The ordinance states the board recruits and appoints the monitor with assistance from the council and Human Resources, but the appointment does not take effect until the council confirms it. No separate process for a provisional monitor is detailed.
Provisional Appointment Rules
City personnel rules allow the Human Resources director to approve provisional appointments in certain cases, typically lasting up to six months, with extensions requiring council approval. Snyder says the board has previously made provisional appointments with HR sign‑off, but the recent vote to provisionally appoint former Alder Rebecca Kemble lacked HR approval. Haas previously told WMTV that the board cannot provisionally appoint an interim monitor without HR’s consent.
The clash centers on whether the ordinance’s confirmation requirement overrides the personnel rule for provisional appointments. The personnel rule does not expressly state it supersedes the ordinance.
Calls for Ordinance Clarification
The board’s governing ordinances were drafted in 2020, before the board existed. In an August 2020 memo, Haas described a city board hiring and supervising a city employee as an unusual arrangement and suggested the council consider adding detail about the board’s relationship with the monitor.
Snyder has shared proposed changes with alderpersons and hopes the city will move forward with clarifying and strengthening the ordinances. Alder Yannette Figueroa Cole, in an October blog post, noted that the ordinances intentionally distribute authority, keeping the board independent from the police department while operating within city government.
Next Steps
The board is gathering community feedback to shape a permanent monitor’s job description, which Snyder expects to present to the board by Dec. 16. If approved, the position will be posted. Snyder said he does not yet know how a potential board suspension would affect this work.
Original reporting: NBC15 WMTV (Gray) – local — read the source article.
