By Kelly Cantwell
Editor
Goshen Township has a police chief and an administrator again after the trustees approved both hires during the April 12 trustee meeting.
Trustees voted unanimously to hire Goshen Fire Chief and interim administrator Steve Pegram as the administrator, a position trustees decided to make part time when administrator Lou Ethridge left.
“It’s always been a dream of mine to do a little bit more for the township than just the fire chief,” Pegram said.
He feels that the township will be more successful if departments work together, and putting someone in high roles in two departments makes that easier, Pegram said.
In addition, it is a significant cost savings to the township to hire a part time administrator, Pegram said.
Pegram’s salary will go up $12 an hour with the new position.
While it is happening slowly, Pegram thinks Goshen is beginning to grow, like it did 15 years ago, and he is excited to be part of that.
“I firmly believe growth in Goshen is coming again,” Pegram said.
While the trustees voted unanimously, trustee Lois Pappas Swift was hesitant to say yes. She respects Pegram a lot, but feels that this is a two person job. She also believes that the township should have kept the full time administrator position.
“I don’t know how he’s going to do it,” Pappas Swift said.
This is not the first time the township has had someone in a dual role, said trustee Lisa Allen. In addition, Pegram is highly qualified and the township is unlikely to have found someone with the education needed that they could pay enough if they had advertised for a full time position.
If a big project does come up, the township has consultants in place that can help, Allen said.
“He’s more than qualified for the position,” Allen said.
In addition, former police chief Ray Snyder did a lot to make sure that Pegram could take on both roles one day, as Snyder was the chief and the administrator. The fire department hired a deputy chief so that Pegram does not have to do all the administrative tasks.
The administrative assistant Cheryl Allgeyer, hired March 22, brings a great deal of knowledge about Goshen Township. She will take on a lot of the responsibilities of the administrator, Pegram said. Allgeyer was formerly the township fiscal officer.
Pappas Swift is also concerned that being in both roles might give the fire department an advantage over other departments.
“I think a lot of it’s a conflict of interest,” Pappas Swift said.
Pegram was the only applicant considered, as the other applicant did not send the required documents to the correct location, Allen said in an email.
“His productivity during his interim position spoke volumes,” Allen said in an email.
There were three applicants for the police chief position, which was narrowed down to two. After the interviews, the trustees were recommended that both candidates brought different skills to the table.
While the other candidate had more education, Allen feels Rose has more institutional knowledge and has already built relationships with the residents and employees. He has done well filling in as interim chief since former chief Rick Combs was fired.
“ I have been in law enforcement for 19 years now and leadership is something that I’m very passionate about and policing is something i’m very passionate about, so the two kind of go hand in hand,” Rose said.
He wants to make the department into one recognized. It is important to Rose to provide the township with professional, friendly policing and to train frequently and be accountable.
“I’m very excited about the future,” Rose said.
Rose was voted in two to one, with Pappas Swift voting against. She feels Rose has a bad track record and is responsible for the issues with the evidence room that led to it being investigated. Pappas Swift is also concerned that Rose flunked a polygraph test.
Rose, however, said the evidence room issues had nothing to do with him. While he did not pass the first polygraph test, he did spend his own money to take another polygraph test with someone he did not know and passed.
Rose has been groomed to take over as chief since before Snyder retired, but when Snyder retired the trustees decided to hire Combs, Allen said.
Rose will make $72,000, which is more than previous chiefs had made. The trustees made that decision because they were trying to make the salary more in line with what the fire department chiefs are making, Allen said.