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May 29, 2019

"as

Rick Mmannay 
-- S'Weyg my 2 9 2m
Palouse, WA 99161

DearRick,

This shall serve as notice that the City of Colfax has reevaluated your tennlnaflon In light of
information gathered during its preparaiion for the hearing on your appeal to the th of Coihx
Civil Service Commission. The City of Colfax ls hereby winding your termination and
reinstating you to the demoted position of police omcer effective January 17, 2019. You shall
reportto duty on Monday, June 10, 2019. Your paycheck on the next scheduled pay date will
Include oompensaflon commensurate With a police officer position covering January 17, 1019
through June 9, 2019.

Your termination was based on the findings of dishonesty and perjury by Clear Risks
Independent Invesu'gatjon relating to you signing certifications that you complied with RCW
43.101.095 In the hiring of Qty of Colfax police officers. Information gathered alter your
Iennlnation has led the City to conclude that it is unlikely mat you cande perjury In regard
to signing the certifications. However, as you admitted under oath in your deposition, you

knew the Police Department was out of compliance with me standory employment
requirements for police officers and you "made a misiake" by smting otherwise under penalty of
perjury. Nevertheless, since the finding of perjury Served as the cm): for the th's decision to
terminate you, the ow finds that without a likelihood of perjury, a 155 severe dlsu'pilne Is

juyjfied.

As sated in your termination letter, your competence as Police Chief came into qualion for
reasons independent of your false cemificatlon of police officers and has been placed lurmer at
issue by information obtained since your termination. Accordingly, you have been demoted to
police officer.

ry basis for your demotion:
ut must have the foresight to prevent

1. The Police Chief cannot just respond to a threat, 
ted a lack of leadership in recognizing

a threat from happening. You have demonstra
threats to the City and have, in some instances, placed the City and its employees at

greater risk by your actions.

The following serve as the prima

roper police coverage by qualified police
with the background,
43.101.095 and WAC 139-07,

a. The City is dependent on having 
of?cers. By knowingly being out of compliance

and polygraph mandates of RCW . 
you unnecessarily placed the City in jeopardy. This is especially true consrdenng

the history of certain of?cers, including one who was terminated from another
agency for being involved in a signi?cant domestic violence incident. You
admitted under oath that you were aware of the individual?s history and

termination, yet you did not take any steps to ensure the individual?s continued
competence and integrity as a police of?cer, such as through or

polygraph testing.

b. The City is dependent on you to keep the Police Department in compliance with
training requirements. Proper training of police of?cers helps ensure that i
quali?ed of?cers are protecting City of Colfax citizens. If one police of?cer is out

of compliance with WAC 139?05-300 regarding 24 hours of annual ln-service

training, the entire Police Department is out of compliance. After your
termination, an email to you from CJT in March 2018 was located indicating

that the Police Department was out of training compliance for 2017.

Signi?cantly, the individual out of compliance was you. You testi?ed before an
administrative law judge that you were granted an extension and satis?ed the
requirements. The March 2018 email from states the opposite;
you had not made a timely request for an extension per the regulations and you
could not be in compliance for 2017. The Police Chief is expected to lead by

example; your example Was non-compliance.

ry 2018, you failed to take control of a scene
the time, you chose to blame Chris Mathis,

rather than accepting responsibility for your
the

c. By your own admission, in Februa
involving a suspicious package. At

including threatening to arrest her,
own shortcomings in handling the incident. An independent review 0

incident by the Pullman Police Department found that

the scene could have been controlled better at the point
Chief McNannay ?rst got involved. A take charge attitude
could have then set a tone, where this event could have
unfolded without confusion. Evacuating everyone out of

the of?ce area where the package was set, and placing
Of?cer Jaelene Leeson In charge of the perimeter to make
sure no one entered the area and disturbed the package,

would have been a good maneuver.

this?s actions were appropriate. You

Th same review found that Chris Ma
ected of the Police Chief.

demonstrated a lack of responsibility and leadership exp
Your inaction placed individuals at unnecessary risk of harm.

oyment testing, the suspicious package
incident, and training, you have demonstrated a lack of knowledge of relevant
and applicable laws, regulations and policies. You have admitted that as a police
of?cer, you are trained to review laws relevant to your duties, interpret those
laws, and apply them in performing your job duties. Those requirements
certainly carryover to your position as Police Chief. It is unacceptable as the
Police Chief to state that you performed of?cial acts, such as con?rming
compliance with statutes and signing contracts on behalf of the City, without
reviewing the applicable laws, requesting training in areas of de?cienqr, or
consulting with the City Attorney. These are not the acts of a competent Police

Chief.

d. In regard to the police of?cer pre-empl

2. As Police Chief, you must property manage the ?nances and personnel in the Police
Department. The turnover in personnel since your tenure as Police Chief is appreciably
more than that during your predecessors? tenures. Despite the unanimous ?Vote of No
Con?dence" against you by the police of?cers at the beginning of your tenure, I decided
to give you a chance as Police Chief. Unfortunately, you have been unsuccessful in
maintaining a full?time, quali?ed Police Department. Your inability to do so has further
wreaked havoc on your budget compliance. Your inability to submit a timely budget and
stay within budget has been a constant issue during your tenure. Notably, your failure
to seek reimbursement for police of?cer training, as well as you blaming it on not
receiving a reminder, further demonstrates your ?nancial irresponsibility.

3. You signed a number of contracts on behalf of the City without authority from the City
Council or consulting with the City Attorney. Both these actions demonstrate
carelessness. Moreover, in the case of the Hospital contract, you knowingly failed to
provide 24-hour coverage as promised in the contract. You testi?ed under oath that you
were available on?call for two hours of the 24-hour period, but further acknowledged
that being on?cail did not sab'sfy the contract requirements. Your actions unnecessarily
put the City at risk of being in breach of contract and left the Hospital without expected
coverage. Your actions were imprudent and further demonstrate that you are not suited

to be Police Chief.

For me foregoing reasons and those noted in my letter of January 17, 2019, you are demoted

to the position of police of?cer.

Please report for duty on June 10, 2019.

In accordance with the City of Colfax Civil Service Commission Rule: Regulations section 5.03,

you have 10 business days to re
Service Commission.

4% VJ

G. Todd Vanek, Mayor

ply to this notice and to request a hearing before the Civil

 

 

400" Mill St

Colfax.wA9911t
(509) 397-3er

 

June 3. 2019

Rick McNannay

Palouse, WA 99161

Deaer

This shall serve as a correction to your date of effective reinstatement as a police officer and
your pay up to that effective date as indicated In my not'me of reinstatement to you dated May
29, 2019. In order to give you 14 days notice of a demotion pursuant to the personnel manual,
the effective date of your demotion and reinstatement is June 13, 1019, not June 10, 2019. In
accordance with that effective date, your paycheck on the next scheduled pay date after June
2019, will include omnpensatlon commensurate with your chief of Police position through

June 12, 2019. Please report for duty on June 13, 2019.

In accordance WMI the City of Colfax Civil Service Commission Rules EL Regulations section 5.03,
you have 10 business days to reply to this notice and to request a hearing before the Gvil

Service Commission.

mqu

G. Todd Vanek, Mayor