Warsaw City Councilman Dewey Lawshe could use a little sensitivity training.

Don't get me wrong. As an elected official, he is entitled to his opinion.

But frankly, the comment, "I'd like a new police chief under my Christmas tree" was a bit much.

I suppose it was intended to be clever - a joke.

Problem is, lots of people around town didn't think it was funny.

I can see why.

How professional is it to joke about significantly altering someone's career right before Christmas?

Lawshe long has expressed discontent with Warsaw Police Chief Craig Allebach.

Apparently, Lawshe's main complaint is that the chief spends too much money.

And he doesn't like the idea of personal patrol vehicles. We know that.

Now he says that because the chief is on the school board and serves as police chief, well, that's just too much power for one individual.

He doesn't give us anything insidious to go on. No abuse of power. No misuse of public funds. No dereliction of duty.

He just wants a new police chief.

And while he is certainly entitled to that opinion, for the sake of sparing an unnecessary uproar, Lawshe should probably have been a little more discreet.

The animosity between the police chief and some members of the city council has been longstanding.

It came to a head earlier this week over a simple fund transfer.

Allebach asked council's approval to transfer $5,000 from one fund within the department to another.

Generally, it's pretty basic. It happens all the time, especially around the end of the year. Allebach wasn't asking for any new money, just to rearrange the money already allotted to him.

But council members said they needed more information and refused the transfer. They have called a special meeting to consider the transfer. I suppose by then Allebach will have given them the necessary information and the transfer will be approved.

There is nothing wrong with the process. That's why we have city councils. To oversee budgets.

But a $5,000 transfer? I wonder, when was the last time the city council had to call a special meeting to consider a $5,000 departmental budget transfer?

Seems silly to me.

Another thing that seems silly to me is the complaint that Allebach spends too much money.

The council has to approve those expenditures. If Allebach spends too much, shouldn't council members take some of the blame?

Allebach has been criticized - publicly and otherwise - for purchasing things like cell phones and computers for police cars.

Others have said the Warsaw Police Department has too many officers when compared to the county department.

But in most cases, the money for those things - including additional officers - came from federal grants Allebach was able to secure. The initial expenditures had a minimal effect on the local tax rate.

Granted, there is a cost related to additional officers or equipment that continues after the initial expenditure, but that's where the council comes in.

If they didn't want the chief applying for grants, buying equipment and adding officers, they should have told him.

The naysayers may well have a valid argument.

But to wait until the stuff is bought, whine about how much was spent and demand somebody's job seems a little juvenile.

Even if none of this bothers you, the demoralization of the local police department should.

And that's what I see happening.

In a show of support for their chief, officers passed around a signup sheet to boycott the annual city employees Christmas luncheon at the Shrine Building on Tuesday.

It's a token gesture, but I think it says a lot about the situation.

Many officers feel like the chief is getting a raw deal and they don't like the way the city council is acting.

This is not a good thing.

The last thing you want is a bunch of disgruntled cops in your town.

Sad thing is, all this could have been avoided if there was just a little bit of honest, face-to-face communication between those involved.

You know, working together today for a better tomorrow. That kind of stuff. It seems a bit late for that now.

It's impossible to predict, but it's not beyond the realm of probability that Lawshe might just get his wish.

Merry Christmas, Councilman Lawshe. [[In-content Ad]]