The retirement of two key leaders in the North Bend Police Department appears to have caught some city officials off guard. City Administrator David Milliron, who was out of town, said he learned this afternoon that Police Chief Robert Kappelman and Captain Curt Bennett were officially retiring at 5:00 pm today. Milliron explained Bennett had retired June 30th but was working as an employed retiree under state legislation. A contingency plan will now go into effect to ensure a seamless transition for public safety in the city of nearly 10-thousand people. The City Administrator would not speculate why the retirements came so suddenly, even as the city is preparing a Request for Proposals (RFP) for a 360-review of the police department.
In an email exchange between the chief and administrator, Milliron requested input by October 1st in order to prepare the RFP. That was delayed by the chief until the 15th who indicated he wanted to include the department’s leadership. Milliron says the chief has now been removed from the RFP preparation and the city will move forward with the audit. Specific areas of concern include efficiency, staffing, scheduling, overtime, and department operations. Others are organizational strengths and weaknesses, workloads, and pay analysis with similar-sized cities. Milliron says the city will announce its transition plans tomorrow.