Oakland personnel issues advance.

Byline: Karen McCowan The Register-Guard

OAKLAND - The state has dropped its effort to revoke the certification of Oakland Police Chief Norman Counts, but he won't go into the new year with a new contract because Oakland's two-person City Council deadlocked over his 2005 performance during an annual review last week.

Meanwhile, the city has settled a wrongful discharge lawsuit filed by Counts' predecessor. That settlement agreement, reached last month, calls for the city to pay former police Chief Dale Shaw $30,000 plus $20,000 in attorney's fees over his August 2005 firing. It also requires the city to provide Shaw with a letter saying that he "worked tirelessly" to create a professional police department but was "caught in the crossfire" between citizens seeking additional police funding and former Mayor Jim Baird, who opposed that. The statement concludes by stating that Shaw was not terminated for wrongful conduct, but rather was fired "without cause" because he was still a probationary employee.

Counts, hired late last year to succeed Shaw, said Friday that he felt vindicated by the state's decision this week to abandon its revocation effort.

Eriks Gabliks, deputy director of Oregon's Department of Public Safety Standards and Training, signed a withdrawal notice on Wednesday that ends the state's case against Counts. In the "termination of proceedings" notice, Gabliks cited new information presented by Counts' attorney suggesting that Counts resigned rather than being fired from a corrections position with the Warm Springs Indian Tribe. The state's revocation order had been based on the tribe's report that Counts had been fired "for cause." Such cases are automatically grounds for revocation of certification.

Counts' attorney, Paul Meadowbrook, said his client had been a victim of political friction in Warm Springs, when the tribe's police chief was removed from office in a 2005 shake-up and Counts was reassigned from a patrol officer position to a corrections position at the tribal jail. In a motion for dismissal, Meadowbrook challenged tribal officials' allegations that Counts had ignored repeated orders to "get in shape" and attend police academy training in order to become re-certified as a correctional officer.

Counts said Friday that his certification issue has been resolved, as he had expected.

"I knew it wasn't going to go anywhere," he said of the Warm Springs allegation. "It was a waste of (the state's) time. But it played into the hands of a couple of people in our fair city in their efforts to create problems for me here."

But DPSST certification supervisor Marilyn Lorance said Friday that Counts remains uncertified.

"His police officer certification lapsed in 2004," she said. "We have received an application for certification from him this year, but it was not signed by an appointing authority. Without that signature, we cannot process it."

Counts said his application had been signed by Jackie McCarty, one of two warring city councilors who have run Oakland affairs for more than a year. She and Councilor Myra Weber were unable to agree on any replacement council appointments after Oakland voters removed former Mayor Baird and two city councilors from office in a recall election in November 2005. A new mayor and city council, elected last month, will take over in City Hall on Jan. 2.

McCarty and Weber met in a closed, executive session to conduct Counts' annual performance review Dec. 5, and did not discuss renewing his contract when they returned to open session.

"I got a very good review from one council person and a less than admirable one from the other," Counts said of the evaluation. "I think it will all be resolved next year when the new council takes over."

Counts is Oakland's only paid law enforcement official. He said he has boosted the number of volunteer, reserve officers from 10 to 16. He said he has been a "working chief," logging more than 10,000 miles patrolling the town of just under 1,000 residents.

"Traffic enforcement is minimal here," he said, "but we've been able to file 80 or 90 criminal cases." Those included the arrest of a man believed responsible for a rash of burglaries at a local retail plaza, Counts said. That man, Jeffery J. Powell, 25, is now serving a one-year prison sentence, according to court records.

"The proof is in the pudding," said Counts of his performance. "I'm ready and willing to work together with anybody. My attitude is, I'm here to do police work, not to delve into politics."

Incoming Mayor Nanci Staples said during the campaign that she has "no issues" with Counts, provided he retains his certification.