SUMMERDALE — The Summerdale Town Council unanimously voted Thursday to terminate Police Chief Dwain Riebeling’s employment with the town.

The council held a hearing at the town’s Municipal Complex regarding Mayor David Wilson’s request for the termination of Riebeling’s employment with the town. The hearing was a closed-door meeting, and the council held a public meeting afterward to vote on the matter.

The hearing was held in executive session because it considered the discipline or dismissal of or to hear written complaints or charges brought against a town employee. Alabama state code allows a municipal body to hold a meeting in executive session when discussing a police officer’s termination or discipline as long as all votes or decisions made are conducted in an open session. However, the code does not require the executive session. Wilson said the closed-door meeting was to protect the privacy of Riebeling and Cpl. Quentin Bettner, who the council also voted to dismiss from employment.

The town of Summerdale released a letter on March 11 regarding why Wilson recommended to the council Riebeling’s termination. Riebeling received the letter on March 7.

The letter lists 14 reasons why Riebeling is being considered for termination, which included:

• Being incompetent and inefficient.

• Failing to supervise the officers in the department.

• “Inattention to duty, orders or instructions.”

• “Conduct unbecoming an employee in the public service.”

• Not going through the correct town procedures in the forced resignation of a former officer, thus creating a liability for the town.

• Insubordination.

• Failing to buy a license for a grass-cutting business that Riebeling operated within town limits.

• Neglect of duty regarding a Nov. 9, 2010 complaint by a town resident.

• Failing to follow orders.

• Failing to coordinate duties of officers.

• Failing to maintain records

• Failing to discipline an officer who endangered the life of a resident who was the victim of a crime.

• Failing to conduct a proper investigation regarding a June 2010 shooting incident that resulted in a disabling injury and deciding that the incident was an attempted suicide without proper evidence, “causing a loss of insurance coverage” for the victim.

• Encouraging police officers to go door-to-door in the town “for the purpose of generating opposition to actions contemplated by the town council and/or mayor relating to the structure and organization of the police department.”

Wilson said the 14 reasons still stood and were the charges brought forward during the hearing.

Wilson said the general response from residents has been positive.

“There will always be a couple people that no matter what you do in Summerdale, they will complain,” he said. “Overall, it’s positive. People understand it’s something that had to be corrected. It seems to be really good feedback that I’m getting from the citizens."

Some residents voiced their opinion on the action taken by the town.

“I don’t know whether I agree or disagree,” Carol Johnson said. “I just know that the mayor is running the town and if the chief isn’t doing his job then that’s that … If he wasn’t doing his job, then he got what was coming to him.”

“I always thought (Riebeling) was an excellent chief,” another resident, who wished to remain nameless, said. “It makes you wonder how it could go so bad. He’s been here for so many years. Anyone could get lazy and slack off.”

“I’m very disappointed in the entire Summerdale council and the mayor,” Jennifer Stewart, a town resident, said as she was leaving the complex after the hearings.

Riebeling’s attorney, Don Bolton, asked the town for a continuance on the hearing, but the request did not receive a majority vote from the council and was denied.

Riebeling directed all comments about the town’s decision to Bolton, but he did say that his plans now are to “find a job, just like anybody else would.”

Bolton also declined to make a comment.

Council votes to

dismiss Corporal Bettner

The council also voted to terminate Bettner’s employment with the town.

The council voted 4-1 to dismiss Bettner. Wilson and Council members Myles Bishop, Gerald Hughes and Norma Giles voted to dismiss, while Councilman Travis Townsend voted against the action. Councilman Ralph Clopton abstained from the vote.

After the hearing, Bettner’s attorney, Neil Hanley, said he did not agree with the procedure the town took.

“There was nothing,” he said when asked to describe the closed-door hearing. “We had no hearing. There were no witnesses, no documents, no nothing. It was just them reading from their interpretation of the facts.”

Wilson said the meeting was a “non-adversarial hearing,” which is different from the usual court hearing.

“Bettner’s attorney is not accustomed to governmental municipal law and the way the law allows procedures to be held,” Wilson said. “This was a non-adversarial hearing where you state the facts and state the things and allow them to respond.”

However, Hanley said one issue he has is the fact that the mayor was involved in the decision process.

“I’ve got an issue with the mayor sitting on the board when he is the witness and the originator of some of these charges,” Hanley said. “So in effect, he was a witness, prosecutor, judge and jury member.”

Hanley said he also had an issue with the lack of notice provided by the town.

“When we got in the hearing, they read the termination letter and then gave us the factual basis of the charges,” he said. “So basically we got notice at the time of the hearing, which is no notice.”

Hanley requested a continuance on the hearing, but it was denied by the council.

Hanley said his offices were closed for Mardi Gras two weeks ago, and he did not feel he had enough time to give Bettner “adequate representation.”

“Cpl. Bettner has provided service to the city for six years,” Hanley said. “His job is on the line.”

The town’s attorney, James Carenton, said Bettner cannot remain on suspension with pay for longer than 10 days without approval from the mayor and council, and Thursday was the 10th day.

“The Town Council has to decide if taking off for Mardi Gras is reasonable grounds for extending his pay,” Carenton said.

Hanley fired back that he thought it was wrong to accuse him of taking a vacation and hold him accountable for that. Hanley said his office closes every Mardi Gras and this year was not a special circumstance.

Riebeling and Bettner received letters from the town on Friday, the day after the hearing, that stated the results of the hearing. The letter delivered to Bettner stated he could appeal the decision to the Board of Employee Appeals by Tuesday, but Riebeling’s letter stated he could not appeal the town’s decision because he was an appointed, unclassified employee whereas Bettner was a classified employee.

Hanley said he filed Bettner’s appeal Monday morning.

“I have listed all of the constitutional due process issues in my appeal,” he said.

In February, Wilson approached the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office about issues with the effectiveness and size of the police department. There was mention of disbanding the town police department and leaving the area to the supervision of sheriff’s office deputies.

Baldwin County Sheriff Huey “Hoss” Mack was in attendance at the March 14 council meeting and spoke to the council and residents to clarify that the county’s role in the town’s policing is as a supplement to the town's police department.

Wilson said there will be a process the town takes in filling both the police chief and corporal vacancies.

“We’re going to have a workshop meeting to discuss it to re-evaluate the job descriptions and pay salaries, and (the council) will authorize us to put out the advertisements for applications,” Wilson said. “We’ll take applications for about 30 days.”

There currently are four police officers in Summerdale, officer T.J. Palkovic said.