KINGWOOD — The City of Kingwood will consider a settlement with a former police officer, when it meets Tuesday.
David Glover, the city’s attorney, said in an email Thursday that, “The parties are working on a settlement. But nothing official yet.”
Approval of payment is on council’s agenda. Council meets at 7 p.m. Tuesday. The meeting will be live-streamed on the city’s Facebook page.
Kingwood is trying to recoup the costs of training from former Officer J.T. Knotts, who gave the town his two weeks notice after completing training at the West Virginia State Police Academy in August 2019. He left Kingwood to take a job as a deputy with the Preston County Sheriff’s Department.
The town billed Knotts $5,649.95, based on a contract he signed when hired that said Knotts would repay the city the expense of training if he left less than a year after completing training. So far no payments have been made.
The total cost of wages, benefits and travel, which were not all requested, was $17,268, Mayor Jean Guillot said in 2019, when council voted unanimously, with three council members absent, to pursue payment.
Knotts started with the city police force in July 2018. He told The Dominion Post earlier that opportunities at the sheriff’s department don’t come up often and he was looking to the future. The sheriff’s department has better benefits, he said.
At a recent county budget session, the sheriff’s department said it starts deputies at $32,000 annually. Kingwood recently hired a trained officer for $36,400 and an officer with more experience for $41,600 per year.
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