Colfax council okays McNannay mediation

Colfax City council Monday night voted 7-0 to begin mediation talks in an attempt to resolve the appeal of former Police Chief Rick McNannay. The motion was approved after the council concluded a 15-minute executive session at the end of Monday night's regular city council session.

The meeting was the first council session since a June 4 meeting of the Colfax Civil Service board, which rejected a move by the city to hire McNannay back on the police force but demote him to patrolman.

The civil service board ruled McNannay's appeal could not be taken off the table by city action once it has been filed.

McNannay's civil service appeal has been scheduled to start July 29.

The city's May 29 letter to McNannay from Mayor Todd Vanek said city preparations for the hearing had led to a city determination that one of two main charges in the chief's termination, perjury, did not take place. The letter to McNannay from Mayor Todd Vanek said dropping the perjury charge reduced the alleged violations and led the city to hire him back on the police force as a patrol officer. It stated he would be paid for the time he was terminated Jan. 17.

McNanny in a revised city letter was told to report for duty as a patrolmen last Thursday, June 13.

Leslie Cloaninger, retired Colfax attorney who chairs the city's Civil Service Board, commented at the start of the June 4 session that she found parts of the May 29 notice to McNannay as "disturbing." She pointed out later in the session that McNannay has potential "property rights" involved in the appeal process including a possible damage claim against the city. That could happen if the board disqualified the public charges made against McNannay when he was fired Jan. 17

First round of the mediation was scheduled for today, Thursday, in Spokane.