Notice of Meeting

of the Planning Commission

Village of Boys Town

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that an open and public meeting of the Planning Commission of the Village of Boys Town will be held on Tuesday, December 19, 2023, at 1:00 p.m., at Father Flanagan’s Boys’ Home Headquarters Building in the Auditorium, in the Village of Boys Town, NE.  The following modifications to this meeting are hereby implemented:

1.  There shall be made available the ability to call in to the meeting as follows:

a.  Dial (531) 355-0000

b.  Enter: (531) 355-1248 #

c.  Enter # (no pin)

2.  The meeting shall be governed by all the same rules, regulations, and guidelines as any other meeting.

The Planning Commission reserves the right to adjourn into closed session as per Section 84-1410 of the Nebraska Revised Statutes.

An agenda of the subjects to be considered at the meeting, kept continually current, is and shall be available for public inspection at the office of the Village Attorney located at the Father Flanagan’s Boys’ Home Headquarters Building in the Village of Boys Town, NE.

Individuals requiring physical or sensory accommodation, who desire to attend or participate, please contact the Village Attorney’s office at (531) 355-1019 no later than 4:30 p.m. on the day preceding the meeting.

James Beckmann

Village Clerk

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Village of Boys Town, Nebraska

Ordinance No. 350

AN ORDINANCE IN THE VILLAGE OF BOYS TOWN TO GOVERN EMPLOYEE CONDUCT; PROVIDE FOR SEVERABILITY; AND TO PROVIDE FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE.

Be it Ordained by the Chairperson and Board of Trustees of the Village of Boys Town, Nebraska, as follows:

Section 1. Findings. The Chairperson and Board of Trustees of the Village of Boys Town find that the following Ordinance needs to be passed:

A. The Board of Trustees of the Village of Boys Town shall appoint such a number of regular police officers as may be necessary. All police officers appointed by the Trustees may be removed, demoted, or suspended at any time by the Chair of the Board as set forth in this ordinance. A police officer, including the Chief of Police, may appeal to the Village Board such removal, demotion, or suspension without pay. After a hearing, the Village Board may uphold, reverse, or modify the action.

The following procedures shall apply to accusations made against any police officer, other than the Chief of Police, by the Chair of the Board of Trustees, a citizen, or a taxpayer.

(1) Complaints and accusations relating to the performance of any such officer, if not made to the Chief of Police, shall ordinarily be referred to him or her for investigation.

(2) The Chief of Police shall make such an initial investigation and interview such witnesses as he or she judges to be appropriate.

(3) If the Chief of Police determines that the accusations made against the police officer are not of a nature which could result in the removal, demotion, or suspension with or without pay of the affected officer, the procedures set forth below in division (4) through (8) shall not apply. In such case, the Chief of Police may interview the affected officer and impose such disciplinary consequences other than removal, demotion, or suspension with or without pay, as the Chief of Police deems to be appropriate.

(4) If the Chief of Police determines that the accusations made against the police officer are of a nature which could result in the removal, demotion, or suspension with or without pay of the affected officer, then the affected officer shall have the following rights in connection with the investigation.

a.  Before being interviewed, he or she shall be given a copy of the written accusation. If the charges have not theretofore been put in writing, the Chief of Police shall put the charges in writing and deliver the same to the affected officer.

b.  The affected officer shall be apprised of his or her right to have an attorney or representative retained, at the officer’s expense, by the officer present with him or her at all proceedings regarding the accusation which is under investigation. The Chief of Police or his or her designee shall not, however, be required to significantly postpone his or her questioning of the affected police officer. If the affected police officer has failed to retain an attorney or other representative within 24 hours of being apprised of his or her right to do so, or if the representative or attorney is unable to be present at the time designated by the Chief of Police, the Chief of Police may proceed to interview the affected police officer without that officer’s attorney or representative being present. The Chief of Police may insist that the attorney or other representative withhold any comments until the affected officer has spoken. The attorney or other representative may not interpose “objections” to any questions asked by the Chief of Police. After the affected police officer has responded to all questions posed by the Chief of Police, his or her attorney or representative may clarify the affected officer’s statements concerning the facts and may suggest witnesses who may be aware of relevant facts.

c.  The affected police officer, the Chief of Police, and their respective attorneys shall have the right to record all hearings or proceedings regarding the written accusation.

d.  The actions of the Chief of Police in interviewing the affected police officer shall constitute “a hearing or proceeding” for purposes of this section. Accordingly, the police officer shall, subject to the limitations set forth in division (A)(4)(b) above have the right to have an attorney present during questioning and shall have the right to record the interview.

e.  The Chief of Police may interview other witnesses and examine evidence outside the presence of the affected officer and his or her attorney. The interviewing of such witnesses and the examination of such evidence shall not constitute a “hearing or proceeding” for purposes of this section.

f.   The affected officer shall have the right to make a statement regarding the accusations made against him or her.

g.  After interviewing the affected officer, the Chief of Police shall conduct such additional investigation as he or she judges to be necessary. The Chief of Police may interview witnesses suggested by the affected officer but shall not be required to do so.

h.  The affected officer may present evidence in connection with the accusations made against him or her. However, the Chief of Police may be required in his or her discretion that any such evidence be presented in a written form. Further, the Chief of Police shall not be required to significantly postpone taking disciplinary action in order to permit the affected officer to present evidence. If the affected officer or his or her attorney has failed to provide evidence within 24 hours after being told of the need to do so, the Chief of Police may proceed to make a recommendation to the Chair regarding disciplinary action.

(5) If the Chief of Police determines after conducting the investigation referred to in (4) above that the misconduct of the affected officer, if any, is not of a nature which should be disciplined by removal, demotion, or suspension with or without pay, the Chief of Police may either elect to impose no discipline, or may elect to impose a disciplinary consequence other than removal, demotion, or suspension with or without pay of the affected officer.

(6) If the Chief of Police determines after conducting the investigation referred to in division (4) above that the affected officer has engaged in misconduct of a nature which warrants removal, demotion, or suspension with or without pay, the Chief of Police shall make a recommendation to the Chair for the imposition of such discipline.

(7) The Chair may accept the recommendation of the Police Chief or may increase or decrease the disciplinary consequences recommended by the Chief of Police. The Chair shall give written notice of the disciplinary action to be taken to the affected officer.

(8) If the Chair elects to remove, demote, or to suspend the affected officer with or without pay, the discipline imposed by the Chair shall not take effect until the affected officer has been given the opportunity for a hearing as specified herein. If the Chair reduces the disciplinary consequences recommended by the Chief of Police to something less than removal, demotion, or suspension with or without pay, then the disciplinary consequences shall take effect immediately.

B.  If an officer has been notified by the Chair that he or she will be removed, demoted, or suspended with or without pay, the affected officer shall have the right to appeal the decision of the Chair to the Village Board. The following procedures shall apply to such an appeal.

(1) The affected officer may, within seven days following receipt of a written notice from the Chair of the discipline to be imposed against him or her, deliver a written request for a hearing to the Clerk of the Village. If the affected officer fails to request a hearing within the time set forth herein, he or she shall be deemed to have waived his or her right to a heating and the disciplinary action taken by the Chair shall take effect immediately following expiration of the seven-day period.

(2) Upon receiving a request for a hearing, the Clerk shall notify the affected officer and the Village Board of the time, date, and place of the hearing. Thereafter, the time and date of the heating may be modified upon the written agreement of the Chair and the affected officer or their respective attorneys.

(3) The affected officer shall have the following rights in connection with the hearing:

a.  To be provided with written notice at least five days prior to the hearing of the grounds for the disciplinary action taken by the Chair;

b.  To be provided with the names of any witnesses who will be called to testify and given an opportunity to examine any documents that will be presented at the hearing at least five days prior to the hearing;

c.  To be represented by counsel;

d.  To cross-examine all witnesses and to examine all documents and to present evidence material to the issues.

(4) The Chair shall have the following rights in connection with the hearing:

a.  To be provided by the affected officer with the names of any witnesses who will be called to testify and given an opportunity to examine any documents that will be presented by the officer at the hearing at least five days prior to the hearing;

b.  To be represented by counsel at the hearing;

c.  To cross-examine all witnesses and to examine all documents and to present evidence material to the issues.

(5) Neither the Chair nor the affected officer shall have the right to call witnesses, or to offer evidence at the hearing unless such evidence and witnesses have been disclosed to the opposing party at least five days prior to the hearing, except that the Village Board may permit such evidence to be received in evidence upon a finding of good cause and that receipt of the evidence or testimony of such witnesses will not significantly prejudice the rights of the party against whom such evidence is offered.

(6) Not later than 30 days following the adjournment of the meeting at which the hearing was held, the Village Board shall vote to uphold, reverse, or modify the action. The failure of the Village Board to act within 30 days or the failure of a majority of the elected Village Board to vote to reverse or modify the action shall be construed as a vote to uphold the action taken by the Chair.

(7) The decision of the Village Board shall be based upon its determination that, under the facts and evidence presented at the hearing, the action was necessary for the proper management and the effective operation of the Police Department in the performance of its duties under the statutes of the State of Nebraska.

C.  Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent the preemptory suspension with pay by the Chair, pending the hearing provided for in section (B) in cases of gross misconduct, neglect of duty, or disobedience of orders.

D.  The Village Board may retain an attorney to serve as hearing officer and advisor to the Board in connection with any hearing conducted under the provisions of this section. Any such hearing officer shall have the authority on behalf of the Village Board to conduct a prehearing conference according to such reasonable procedures as may be established by the hearing officer; to rule on pre-hearing motions; to make reasonable orders relating to discovery; when authorized by law to do so, to issue subpoenas to compel the attendance of witnesses at the hearing or at pre-hearing depositions; to rule on motions and evidentiary objections at the hearing; to advise the Board on issues of law; and to undertake such other related responsibilities as directed by the Chairperson of the Village Board. Either the Village Attorney, or another attorney appointed by the Chair may serve as the hearing officer and advisor to the Village Board.

E.  The Chief of Police may delegate the duties which he or she has in connection with the investigation of any complaint against a Police Officer provided that the person or agency to whom such duties are delegated shall insure that the affected officer is provided with all the rights set forth in section (A)(1) through (8).

F.  If a complaint is made to the Chair regarding any officer other than the Chief of Police, the Chair may choose to delegate the investigation thereof to a person or agency other than the Chief of Police. In such cases, the Chief of Police shall be involved in the investigation only as directed by the Chair. Also, in such cases, the person or agency conducting the investigation shall ensure that the affected officer is provided with all the rights set forth in section (A)(1) through (8).

(1) If a complaint is made regarding the Chief of Police, the complaint shall be investigated by the Chair, or by a person or agency delegated by the Chair to conduct the investigation. In such cases, the Chief of Police shall have all the rights of a police officer as set forth in section (A)(1) through (8). If the Chair takes action to remove, demote, or suspend the Chief of Police, he or she shall have the right to appeal such action in the maimer set forth in section (B)(1) through (7).

G.  This section does not apply to a police officer during his or her probationary period meaning a probationary officer does not have the rights articulated herein during his or her probation.

H.  The Chair, in consultation with the Attorney, may direct that a qualified third party be retained to conduct an audit of the Police Department as necessary to ensure the proper operation of said Department.

Section 2. Severability. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase of this ordinance is, for any reason, held to be invalid for any reason, such invalidity shall not affect the validity of any remaining portion of this ordinance. The Chair and Board of Trustees of the Village of Boys Town, Nebraska hereby declare that the Village of Boys Town would have enacted and adopted this ordinance and each section, subsection, sentence, clause, and phrase hereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, subsections, sentences, clauses, or phrases be declared invalid.

Section 3. Effective Date. This ordinance shall take effect from and after its passage, approval and publication as required by law, but not sooner than fifteen days after its passage.

PASSED AND APPROVED this 5th day of December, 2023.

VILLAGE OF BOYS TOWN, NEBRASKA

By: Kyle Skartvedt

Chairperson, Board of Trustees

ATTEST:

James Beckmann

Village Clerk

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