Norfolk police chief may get half-year of pay and benefits

NORFOLK

Police Chief Bruce P. Marquis will receive a severance package, which could be up to six months of pay and benefits, City Manager Marcus Jones said Tuesday.

Marquis will retire April 1, Jones said last week, in part because of Jones' evaluation of all city department heads.

Under the city code, the city manager does not have the authority to offer severance packages to department heads, but he asked the City Council in closed session last week to allow him to grant it. The council is scheduled to adopt the policy next week, council members said.

Tuesday, Jones wouldn't say how much severance he would like Marquis to receive. He asked the council to be able to grant up to six months, up to one month for each year of service. Marquis was police chief more than seven years.

"I think it's important that, if we have changes in this administration, that I have some flexibility," Jones said. At least one council member said he was surprised to hear that Marquis would receive a severance package.

"There was no discussion last week about someone who might retire - only people that Marcus might let go," Councilman Andy Protogyrou said. "I have concerns about this. When you retire, you retire. You take the gold watch and go."

Protogyrou said Jones may ask other senior staff members to step down within the next few months.

"You may have people who've been there a long time, and it's not a matter of competence or job performance, but just someone who doesn't fit into Marcus' system," he said.

"We all agreed that it's the right thing to do to provide a short severance to people in that situation."

Marquis, 59, who is paid $155,706 per year, declined to comment Tuesday afternoon.

The tenure of Marquis has included steadily dropping crime city rates and improvements to the department's technology, though he appeared to lose the confidence of city leaders with a series of perceived missteps.

The most recent was the death of police recruit John Kohn, 40, in December. Marquis initially announced that Kohn's death resulted from a collision with another recruit, but he failed to say Kohn was punched in the head by instructors before and after the collision.

Councilman Paul R. Riddick said he had no problem with Marquis or other senior employees receiving a severance package.

"Marcus discussed that issue with us and we all agreed," he said.

"You've got people with car payments, kids in school and mortgages. I think six months is OK. It's the right thing to do."

Councilman Tommy Smigiel disagreed, saying that while Jones is making the severance offers to be compassionate, the city can afford only so much.

Jones told the council earlier this month that the city faces a $32 million budget shortfall, $53 million if the schools deficit is included.

"We can continue to throw out severance packages to people, but can we afford that as a city?" Smigiel said. "It may put us in a difficult financial situation."

Pilot writer Patrick Wilson contributed to this report.

Harry Minium, (757) 446-2371, harry.minium@pilotonline.com