Carthage mayor awaiting salary survey before filling police chief post

By Susan Redden

sredden@joplinglobe.com

CARTHAGE, Mo. — Mayor Jim Woestman will wait for the results of a compensation study before filling the Carthage police chief’s position that has been vacant since October.

The study is to be complete early next month, Woestman said Friday.

The mayor said he had talked to two potential finalists for the job, then decided to wait because the consulting firm hired last year was close to finishing the study.

The study will help him and other officials make sure that Carthage is on target in its salary for the job. Pay rates are set by the City Council, Woestman noted.

The council late last year hired Kaatz and Associates, of Springfield, to conduct a comprehensive compensation and classification study that gauges city workers’ job duties and pay, and compares them with figures from at least a dozen other cities of similar size.

The salary range for the police chief’s job is $41,756 to $57,021.

The city received nearly 80 applications for the position. Six finalists were brought to Carthage for interviews with the mayor and members of the police personnel committee; Councilman Mike Harris, council liaison to the committee; and Tom Short, city administrator.

Dennis Veach held the post for nine years before accepting a chief’s position in Texas. Lt. Barry Duncan has been acting chief. He has decided not to apply for the position.

The Carthage department has 29 sworn officers, and oversees animal control, parking enforcement and school crossings, as well as police patrols, criminal investigations and the city jail.