By JAMES BELL
Hays Post
ELLIS—Last month, the departure of Ellis Police Chief Christopher Krom caught many off guard.
The department is already short-staffed. Veteran Sgt. Avery Smith, who was appointed interim chief, said although the city remains safe and secure, he recognizes the challenges in place as he looks to bring in new officers.
Currently the department is comprised of Smith, a full-time officer and a part-time officer.
While their numbers are low, he said staggered scheduling ensures an officer is always available in the city.
“We always have someone on duty, no matter what,” Smith said. “I don't believe there's any increase in danger to the public at large. You know, they may experience a little bit longer response time for some things because sometimes we may be getting called out of bed. That's how it is sometimes. But right now, we try to consistently at least have someone out.”
Scheduling long shifts, he said helps allow needed off time, while providing continuous police coverage for the city.
“We're working long hours so you can also have the other person have long hours off as well,” he said. “So, you may work a 72. Or you may work a 48. And the other person will get 72 or 48 hours off to kind of decompress. … If they didn't quite get caught up, they're more than welcome to come back in the office and clear up reports and do stuff like that.”
“Victoria has been doing that scheduling for years,” Smith said. “And they haven't, I don't think, experienced any extra response time or any extra danger because of that. And the Sheriff's office and the Highway Patrol have both stepped up, big time.”
While citizens are safe, filling the department is a priority with three additional full-time officers needed to fill the ranks, along with another part timer.
“We have approval for five full timers,” Smith said. “And then in the past, we have had approval for two part-time positions. And I fully intend on keeping those part-time positions and using them to help cover vacation or sicknesses and stuff like that, especially with all these COVID protocols and stuff that are in place.”
He said he fully intends on keeping part timers, as they can help cover events and situations as needed and appreciates the assistance from the Ellis County Sheriff’s Department as they frequently assist the department as well.
“Sometimes it's only one person on duty, while we've had to have the Sheriff's office come over and help with traffic control,” Smith said.
While the coverage is appreciated, he said, he also understands they have their own jobs to do and would like the department to become more self-sufficient. However, finding officers to make that a reality has been challenging for the department.
“It's an uphill battle right now,” Smith said. “Because, you know, in some other places in this country, the attitude towards law enforcement shifted. (It’s a) complete 180 from where it was, even four years ago, with everything that's happened.”
While he said national events have created difficult situations in communities across Kansas and the nation, the Ellis residents have been overwhelmingly supportive.
“We have a very strong support system here,” Smith said. “We have a ton of people that love us over here. And I love that. That's fantastic. So, I think that the biggest thing right now is, is hiring people that are career-oriented, want to become a part of the community and have them stay here long enough that they can really see what this town is about.”
He said a recent bump in the department’s pay schedule should also help in recruiting efforts, along with a better than average benefits package.
“Our pay scale was just readjusted so we're making more money than we were last year and in the years prior to that,” Smith said. “Our benefits over here are 100 percent covered by the city, which is amazing. And that's whether you have no one else in your family's dependent or if you have five kids and wife. That's covered by the city, 100 percent of all the premiums are covered. So that's, that's a very big draw.”
And with any job in a small town, Smith said finding people that enjoy the community and want to make Ellis home is a challenge.
“If someone comes in, we hired that could be the perfect candidate, but if they don't, envelop themselves in the community, then I think they might constantly feel like an outcast, and that's not what we want to have happen,” Smith said. “I know in the past before my time here, we have officers that came in and did a good job. But they didn't really involve themselves very much, and they just always kind of felt like they were on the outside of everything.”
“We have a good culture over here, I think, and I think it could be a fun and fulfilling place to work. But you know, not many people want to move to small-town Kansas and live in small-town Kansas anymore. People want to live in a place like Hays that has, services to offer or even live somewhere like Wichita, Topeka, Lawrence. They want to live in those bigger metropolitan areas, there's a lot more opportunity there.”
But as the department looks to rebuild its ranks, he said there are many positives for incoming officers, including advancement opportunities that typically may be lacking in a department of their size.
“As far as building from the ground up, you know, we have a good foundation,” Smith said. “Furthermore, we have a really, really good supportive city council that will let us use our budget as we see fit, as long as it's within reason, of course, which is to be expected, but that's fine. But I feel that we have a really good strong foundation.”
Smith himself can be counted as part of that foundation, as a transplant to Ellis, he has served the department for over five years, coming in during the tenure of Chief Taft Yates.
“I'm very happy where I'm at,” Smith said. “I love the community I work in. I love the people here. We have a very supportive community. And it's showing these last, these last three weeks, we've been sorting through, what's happened. So, the last three weeks, I've heard nothing but support.”
While the process of rebuilding the department continues, Smith said he wants the people of the city to know they are safe.
“I would like the people of Ellis to be reassured that we're doing the best we can with what we have right now,” Smith said. “We're going to continue forward, and we're going to continue serving the public as best as we can with what we have for the time being.”