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During a special Kearny Town Council meeting on Friday, March 10, the Kearny Town Council voted to no longer participate in the selection process for a shared Chief of Police with the towns of Hayden, Winkelman and Mammoth. The four communities had been collaborating for almost two years and were in a final selection process for hiring the joint chief of police.
Hayden, Mammoth and Kearny had all approved a joint contract in a previous meeting. Kearny council voted to hire a chief that would just serve the Town of Kearny.
The communities had been discussing the possibility of developing a Police Services District that would have created one police department for all four communities. Hayden Mayor Bobby Smith explained that those discussions are no longer in the works. It does not appear that a police district would be feasible should one of the communities not want to participate.
Hayden and Mammoth will proceed with hiring a shared police chief. They expect to hire the chief in an upcoming meeting. Winkelman does not have a police force, instead they contract with the Town of Hayden for police services.
The three communities are all being served by an interim chief provided by Pinal County Sheriff’s office.
Mila Besich is a resident of Superior with two children. She volunteers for many local organizations. She is an experienced fundraiser and event planner for Copper Corridor Economic Development Coalition. She covers some of the area town councils and schools.
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