Its official

Much to our surprise (do you sense my sarcasm?) the City Council appointed Baldwin Park Police Capt. Michael Taylor as interim police chief during a closed session meeting Tuesday.

On a side note, we are still *patiently* waiting for the resignation agreement signed by Chief Edward Lopez. That would have information as to Lopez retirement benefits and/or any severance pay he may receive.

I spoke with City Attorney Joseph Pannone this week and he said that because Lopez by law has seven days to revoke the agreement from the time it was approved (Feb. 20), it technically has not been finalized – thus the agreement is not subject to public disclosure.

The city adds an additional three days to that seven day period to allow for a mailed-in letter of revocation.
So, all days counted, the agreement wont be ready for me to review until March 1. But thats a Saturday so I actually wont be able to see it until March 3.

All this despite statements from public meeting expert Terri Francke that we should have been able to review the documents from day one.

Oh, the woes of bureaucracy.