Fall River Police Chief Furtado contract vote set for Tuesday – what are the possible outcomes?

Interim Fall River Police Chief Kelly Furtado is expected to get another City Council vote next Tuesday, May 13th. The first vote failed 5-4 with the City Council voting 9-0 to ask Mayor Coogan to widen the search for a new Chief of Police. Mayor Coogan instead sent down Chief Furtado’s contract for the city council to vote again at their next meeting. I received word that Councilor Linda Pereira switched her vote (which she denied to me), and a week later announced that she was switching her vote. It’s fairly obvious that Linda switching her vote resulted in Mayor Coogan assuming he had 5 ‘yes’ votes to get Furtado’s contract approved, but Councilors Cadime and Ponte objected, so no vote could be taken that night. Based on the rules, the objections moved the vote to the next council meeting which is set for next Tuesday. What are the possible outcomes we can expect this Tuesday?

1. At least 5-4 in favor of Chief Furtado getting the contract

There is a lot of political jockeying happening behind the scenes. Chief Furtado has reached out to City Councilors to come to the police station for meetings. Several weeks ago, Michelle Dionne sat down with the Chief for three hours before I did an interview with Chief Furtado. One can assume she is meeting with the no votes in hopes to get them to vote yes. Mayor Coogan is also making his calls, so just like Linda Pereira changed her vote, there is always a chance others will too. I’ve heard Mayor Coogan is floating the idea of moving the Chief of Police position from a contractual position to a civil service one like Fall River’s Fire Chief position. His hope is to get some votes to flip to give Furtado something like a one-year contract and transition her later to civil service. This may win over some of the no votes. Regardless, if the council has five yes votes Chief Furtado gets the contract.

2. At least 5-4 against Chief Furtado getting the contract

With Laura Sampson stepping down, Ricky Tith replaced her. This could flip the vote from 5-4 yes, to 5-4 no. If Sampson simply waited three weeks to resign and the votes remained the same, Chief Furtado’s contract would be approved, but now the 8th seat could flip from a yes vote to a no vote. Regardless, if the council has five no votes Chief Furtado doesn’t get the contract.

3. A 4-4 tie vote results in Furtado becoming the chief 45 days later

If one councilor abstains from a vote and the vote results in a 4-4 tie, Chief Furtado would become chief 45 days later. Per the City Charter:

Section 2-10 of the City Charter states that appointments made by the Mayor shall become effective on the forty-fifth day after the date on which notice of the proposed appointment was filed with the City Clerk unless approved or rejected by the City Council within the 45 days.

If Councilor Sampson waited three weeks to resign, she could have voted yes or recused herself, and a 5-4 yes vote or 4-4 tie vote would have resulted in Chief Furtado getting the contract. If her replacement Ricky Tith votes no, and others do not change their vote, Sampson stepping down will result in Furtado not getting her contract – a political fumble.