[HISTORY: Adopted by the Council of the Town of Mount Airy
5-2-2016 by Ord. No. 2016-9. Amendments noted where applicable.]
The police department of the Town of Mt. Airy is hereby created
and shall be referred to herein as the "Town Police."
The Town Police shall be headed by the Chief of Police, who shall be appointed by the Mayor with the advice and consent of the Town Council as provided in §§ C4-4B(1) and C7-3 of the Town Charter applicable to managerial employees. The Chief of Police shall serve at the pleasure of the Mayor and may be terminated, suspended, investigated and/or disciplined by the Mayor in accordance with § C4-4B(2) of the Town Charter.
The general powers and duties of the Chief of Police shall be:
A.
To organize, manage and supervise the Town Police and its officers
and civilian employees in all areas of law enforcement.
C.
To recommend to the Mayor the termination of any officer or civilian employee of the Town Police pursuant to Section C4-4B(2) of the Town Charter and, as respects officers of the Town Police, subject to the Law Enforcement Officers' Bill of Rights (LEOBR) as codified at § 3-101, et seq., of the Public Safety Article of the Maryland Code.
D.
To investigate, suspend, discipline and demote officers of the Town
Police subject to the LEOBR.
E.
To investigate, suspend, and discipline civilian employees of the
Town Police.
F.
To recommend to the Mayor and Town Council the number of police officers
and civilian employees of the Town Police force and their compensation
subject to the limits of any budget established for the Town Police
by the Town Council.
G.
To establish qualifications, rules and regulations and operational
policies for the Town Police and set standards for hiring, training
and performance.
H.
To appoint a physician and a psychologist as medical examiners, who
shall examine all applicants for police officer, or periodically examine
police officers, as to their physical and psychological fitness to
become members of the Town Police.
I.
To require polygraph examinations of applicants for the position
of police officer or of police officers periodically or in connection
with an internal investigation if authorized by law, including the
LEOBR.
J.
To formulate goals and objectives for the Town Police and to insure
productivity from its personnel.
K.
To set operational strategies that will work best in the Town and
to ensure that the citizens have a well-trained and professional police
department.
L.
To issue operational orders and special orders, including, but not
limited to, the disposition of unclaimed, found or lawfully seized
personal property, not inconsistent with law, including the Town Code.
M.
To propose a departmental budget and work within the limits of any
budget established for the Town Police by the Town Council.
N.
To recommend that the Town Council approve entry into mutual aid
agreements with other law enforcement agencies, pursuant to the Criminal
Procedure Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland, § 2-105.
O.
To cooperate and exchange information with other federal, state or
local police departments or law enforcement agencies within and without
the state for the purposes of achieving greater success in preventing
and detecting crimes and apprehending criminals.
P.
To attend regular meetings of the Town Council, or to designate another
employee of the Town Police in the event that the Chief of Police
cannot attend, to provide a monthly police report in public session,
or at such other meetings or times as the Mayor and/or the Town Council
may require.
Q.
Such other things in relation to the fiscal, financial or administrative
affairs of the Town Police as may be lawfully authorized by the Mayor
or the Town Council or as may be authorized by law applicable to law
enforcement agencies.
Police officers of the Town Police, including the Chief of Police,
shall have the powers and authority of constables in this state and
specifically shall have the authority to enforce the criminal, traffic
and parking laws of this state, the provisions of the Town Code or
other applicable law that constables in this state are authorized
to enforce, within the Town limits or otherwise where they are authorized
to police pursuant to any applicable mutual aid agreement or other
applicable law. Police officers of the Town Police, including the
Chief of Police, shall have the power of arrest and to issue traffic,
criminal, parking or municipal infraction citations where applicable
law, including the Town Code, permits.
The compensation of the Chief of Police shall be set each year
by the Town Council in its annual budget.
[Added 3-7-2022 by Ord. No. 2022-3]
A.
The following assessments and fees shall be payable to the Town for
development of real property:
(1)
A public safety impact fee in an amount set forth in § 1-25 of the Town Code is hereby imposed by the Town of Mount Airy, such charge to be in addition to impact fees provided elsewhere in the Code, and to be dedicated to the development, maintenance, equipment, staffing, capital improvements and expansion of the public safety of the Town of Mount Airy, such charge to be payable at the time that application is made for site plan approval.
(2)
The additional public safety charge is hereby imposed, and the charges
therefor shall be disbursed to the Mount Airy Policy Department as
part of the annual budget process, or such other interval as may be
determined by the Mayor of the Town of Mount Airy, in order to address
increased demands imposed upon the Department by virtue of continued
growth within the Town of Mount Airy.
