Meadowlakes council upholds popular deputy’s dismissal

The animated crowd loudly — and continuously — declared its support for Koenning, who was let go from his part-time job as a city peace officer in October.

“We ask that you honor the people of the community and reinstate the deputy of the community,” resident John Osbourne said to raucous applause.

The council unanimously upheld its decision amid new claims by Mayor John Aaron that Koenning willfully accepted more than $1,000 in free rounds of golf at Hidden Falls Country Club since it was taken over by the city in April. 

Club records indicate Koenning played several rounds of golf for free since the takeover.

State, county and city statues prohibit public officials from accepting free gifts or gratuities from individuals or businesses under that official’s jurisdiction, Aaron said.

Koenning said he wasn’t aware of the rule, adding many businesses offer discounts or free products to peace officers and other groups.

“Such rationalization (by Koenning) indicates acceptance of a philosophy of conduct on Steve’s part that is in direct conflict with what is expected of a Meadowlakes city employee,” Aaron said in a presentation to the council.

Aaron also cited evidence alleging Koenning did not obey instructions to randomize his traffic patrol pattern, despite repeated requests.

Koenning said he took exception to both accusations.

“When someone attacks my performance or my professionalism, I take that pretty strongly,” he said. “I don’t know what I can do (about the dismissal), but I’m going to check all my avenues.”

Koenning, a 20-year law enforcement veteran, is a full-time employee for the Burnet County Sheriff’s Office. He had worked part-time for Meadowlakes as a traffic enforcement and security officer until his dismissal for budgetary reasons Oct. 24.

In its 2008-2009 city budget, the council halved its spending on public safety as part of a plan to keep property tax rates at the same level as last year. Aaron said that reduction meant officials had to dismiss one of two part-time peace officers on the city payroll.

Those officers are paid $27 per hour to work 24 hours per month, or six hours per week.

Aaron said he advised the council to dismiss Koenning after weighing his job performance against that of remaining Deputy Nathan Dodd.

“Reviewing Deputy Koenning’s performance, I determined that his performance was not superior or substantially equivalent to the retained officer’s performance,” Aaron said.

Aaron said his investigation of Koenning’s patrol schedule revealed the deputy rarely patrolled the city during peak traffic hours, choosing instead to patrol during midday hours.

The mayor also said he heard frequent reports that Koenning used his on-duty hours to visit with friends and community members instead of patrolling the streets.

Claims of Koenning’s free use of the golf course wasn’t revealed until mid-October, Aaron said.

“It was a complete surprise to us,” he said. “There were very few people who knew about that.”

Koenning questioned Aaron’s right to give him poor marks on his performance evaluation, saying in his six years of service to the city, he never received a written evaluation as prescribed in the Meadowlakes’ employee manual.

“It’s written that the performance evaluations will be in a written format on approved performance evaluation forms,” Koenning said. “I did not receive a single one.”

Aaron said he met with Koenning weekly to discuss business, though those meetings usually took place outside his residence when Koenning happened by in his patrol car.

“In any situation, you can always look back and say that we could have done it better,” Aaron said. “I felt that (he and Koenning) were getting a weekly evaluation when we met face-to-face and discussed business.”

Koenning also said he never received a copy of the employee manual, which explicitly prohibits any public official from receiving free gifts or gratuities, adding that existing Burnet County policy forbids such gifts on the grounds they could influence the official.

“I’m standing here to tell you, I was not influenced by anything I received,” he said.

Koenning thanked Meadowlakes residents for their support during his years of service and subsequent appeal for his job.

Meanwhile, Aaron said the city will likely move to keep a tighter rein on its employees in the future.

“We will go back and rededicate ourselves to make sure everyone understands what’s expected of them,” he said.

chris@thepicayune.com