FAIRHOPE, Alabama—The City Council has a full agenda tomorrow for its last meeting of 2012, with two proposals the local law enforcement and professional services community will be watching with interest.

Both items address important and potentially controversial issues, and if approved with little discussion, could indicate that the September election did put in office a new majority on the council that the mayor can depend on to move forward his agenda.

One of those items is a request by Interim Police Chief Joe Petties “to remove Deputy Chief (James Barber) as the Review Officer for the Fairhope Police Department and to appoint retired Deputy Wayne Gandy.”

Barber, one of Mobile police’s highest-ranking officers, was recommended for appointment to the post last fall through an agreement between Kant and former Chief Bill Press, which was then approved by the council.

Gandy worked for the Fairhope Police Department for eight years then went to work for the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office from which he retired this summer after 30 years. From 2008 through his retirement, he was the lone law enforcement officer in Magnolia Springs, according to Petties’ Dec. 18 memo to the city clerk.

The issue of who sits as an “impartial hearing officer” in police personnel and disciplinary matters, and who appoints that person, raised its head during the last council’s term and under Press’ tenure.  Barber was appointed following the resignation of Municipal Judge Haymes Snedeker from the review officer post, citing ethical issues raised by holding the two city positions at the same time.

Snedeker’s name is also on the Dec. 27 agenda, for reappointment to the city judge position. With the exception of police chief, all other jobs that the council appoints—clerk, treasurer and attorney—have already been appointed.

A search is currently under way for that chief, which will be selected by the council. The position was advertised by the city with salary and qualifications, after the September election but before the new council took office. If the council approves a new review officer tomorrow, the incoming police chief will also not have had input to the Review Officer decision before taking office.

The agenda item that engineers, accountants and lawyers might be watching would change how professional service contracts are awarded.

The difficulty the council may have in evaluating whether and how to act on the administration’s proposal is that the current rules of procedure for awarding professional contracts were not provided in the document packet to the council. The members thus won’t be able to compare the current rule with the proposed changes, if they act on the proposal tomorrow night.

In other matters, the council will consider a change in membership fees at the James P. Nix Center and approval of proposed appropriations to more than a dozen community groups.

The council meets at 6 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 27, in council chambers at the Fairhope Municipal Complex, with a pre-meeting work session starting at 4:30 p.m. in the Delchamps Room.