Saline Police Chief Bunten Content With Retirement Decision

Chief Paul Bunten feels good about his plans to retire in January.

After Monday’s meeting, where council , Bunten said he was at peace with his decision to retire on Jan. 16. “I want to leave feeling good about what I’ve done here and I will. I spoke with the mayor about some of the issues that bothered me and I feel a lot better about things and about my decision,” said Bunten, who is retiring after a 47-year law enforcement career, including 17 as Saline Police Chief.

Bunten was stung when the city put a stop to his restructuring plan at the 11^th hour in September. He’d settled on a plan to eliminate the Deputy Chief’s position with a Lieutenant’s position and to hire one of the department’s two sergeants to fill that role. Hours before announcing who he would hire, the on the process.

Knowing of Bunten’s plan to retire in July of 2012, Mayor Gretchen Driskell said she thought the restructuring of the department should be left to Bunten’s successor.

Driskell was absent from Monday’s meeting. In a phone interview Monday, Driskell said Bunten was a great chief of police.

“He’s done many important things for our police department. He is well respected in the community. We were fortunate to have his leadership for the last 17 years,” Driskell said.

Driskell said it was unfortunate that Bunten’s retirement announcement tangled with the restructuring discussion.

“It’s sad that there seems to be a perception that the city or the council lacked confidence. These are two separate issues. We’ve always had the utmost confidence in (Bunten). He’s been a great leader in this community and deserves more respect and appreciation,” Driskell said. “With Chief Bunten and Deputy Chief (Jack) Ceo retiring, there is an opportunity to restructure the department and make changes. We want the department’s next leader to have that opportunity.”

In a Nov. 14 letter to council, Bunten announced his intention to retire in January.

"This has been a difficult decision for me to make but after many discussions with my wife and family, we feel that the time is right to retire," wrote Bunten.

Bunten said he originally planned to retire in July of 2012 after taking time to train the new second-in-command officer. Bunten hoped that officer would help the department's transition as it brought a new chief aboard.

"It was my thought that a lengthy transition would allow for a thoughtful and thorough search for a new chief and also provide the necessary time to acclimate the new second-in-charge on the budget process and the day-to-day administration of the department," Bunten wrote. "Prolonging my retirement date now no longer appears to be necessary or desirable."

Driskell said Monday that the city will begin searching for an interim chief to hold down the fort while the search for a permanent chief begins.

“It will probably be someone from the outside with experience in leadership,” Driskell said.