Nearly one month after Chief Jose Alvarez was terminated by a 4-3 vote of the Caseyville Board of Trustees and Mayor Leonard Black, the search for a new chief has not yet begun.

Following the monthly Board of Trustees meeting  Wednesday, Black said “nothing is happening” with the search to replace Alvarez. Then, motioning to Interim Chief Scott Miller, Black said there was no hurry to start the search.

“The chief here is doing a fine job, as far as I’m concerned,” Black said.

The search for a full-time chief will begin by the beginning of July, Brenda Williams, chair of the police committee on the Board of Trustees said. Williams has been waiting for the 30-day window of appeal to close.

Alvarez can appeal his termination to the Police and Fire Board. He has not yet filed an appeal.

Williams agreed that Miller is doing well. “He is certainly welcome to apply, if he likes,” Williams said.

The Caseyville Police station / Photo by Roger Starkey

Awards of Tax Increment Financing are also on hold. The board wanted to delay action on new awards until recently appointed TIF attorney Stephen Kernan is able to review Caseyville’s TIF records. Kernan was named the TIF attorney on May 21.

Who Kernan is replacing is not clear. For a year, Black, nor the board, appointed an attorney to handle TIF issues after Black was elected in April 2013 and the prior attorneys were not retained.

Williams, who is also the chair of the TIF committee, said Wednesday that Kathleen Field Orr had been filling the role. When Williams and Kernan met at 2 p.m. Thursday, they were to review documents returned from Orr.

However, the website for Kathleen Field Orr & Associates does not list Caseyville among the 43 municipal bodies it represents. Williams said she could find no board action to appoint Orr, but thought it may have happened when Rick Casey Sr. was the TIF Administrator for Caseyville. Williams said she did not research meeting minutes that far back in time. Casey Sr. was removed as TIF administrator in Oct. 2008.

Orr was away from the office Thursday and unavailable for comment.

Rick Casey Jr., who was chair of the TIF Committee on the Board of Trustees before stepping down earlier this year, was the only member of the Board to vote against delaying action on new TIF projects.