BY JANE PRENDERGAST
The Cincinnati Enquirer
ALEXANDRIA -- You might think a mayor would be a little gun-shy about hiring a police chief who had to be talked into taking the job.
But not in this city. The mayor just kept talking.
Finally, Gary Farmer, a veteran Alexandria police officer, agreed to take over the top spot in the department where he has worked almost 20 years.
"I was really wondering if I wanted to take it," Chief Farmer said. "But then I thought, "I've been here when we've had nothing, and I've been here now that we're growing and have the ability to do more things.'
"And I decided I just didn't want to go."
Chief Farmer, 40, replaced veteran Ed Stein, who left the job in early December. Chief Stein used vacation and comp time until his retirement officially began Jan. 1.
The new chief's upcoming 20-year anniversary with the force, in September, was what almost made him turn the chief's job down. In Kentucky, police officers can retire at that mark.
"I talked to him three or four times about it," Mayor Pat Fanning recalled. "He said, "Well, I might want to retire.' I finally just talked him into it."
Resumes came into City Hall from more than 25 candidates, but Chief Farmer, a Newport native who grew up in Fort Thomas, was always Mr. Fanning's choice.
"He knows everyone on the force; he knows the community," the mayor said. "That's why I wanted him quite badly."
Chief Farmer now has some wants of his own, a 10th officer, for starters. The department is at eight now, with the hiring process under way for a ninth to fill the slot he vacated.
The extra officer is needed because the city continues to grow, Chief Farmer said. A 1996 census estimate put the population at 7,158, up from fewer than 6,000 five years before. So far this year, the department has responded to about 900 calls, up about 200 more than last year at this time.
"It's like overnight; it's all here," the chief said. "We've got so much going on out here."
The biggest change Alexandria residents might see out of the new chief, he said, is more access to the department and its officers through various community-oriented policing programs. Police departments sometimes can be off base about what their community's needs are, he said, unless officers foster good relationships with citizens.
"Hopefully, once they see that we're willing to work with them, maybe they'll help us more," Chief Farmer said. "It's the way things are going to have to be if we really want to help people."
