Город Хансвилл нанял экс-начальника полиции для инвентаризации военного имущества

Hanceville contracts former police chief for military surplus audit Published 8:40 am Tuesday, September 1, 2026 The city of Hanceville has contracted former Police Chief Josh Howell to inventory military surplus equipment obtained through the federal 1033 program. The 1033 Program allows local law enforcement agencies to purchase surplus military equipment from the federal government, but requires a certified, physical inventory of all items obtained through the program be completed each year. The Hanceville City Council previously dissolved its police department and terminated all the department’s employees in 2025 after several officers were indicted on corruption charges, leaving no one to complete this year’s audit. With the September 30 deadline quickly approaching, Mayor Nolan Bradford recommended contracting former HPD Chief Howell during a council meeting on Thursday, Aug. 27. Howell had resigned from his position before the events which lead to the investigation into the department and Mayor Bradford noted that he would be aware of the location of all the city’s 1033 equipment, enabling him to make quick work of the process. The council agreed to an open budget of $50 an hour to pay for Howell’s services, however Mayor Bradford said the final fee may come in under that amount. As the city awaits the results of two annual audits from the Alabama Department of Examiners of Public Accounts, councilmembers introduced the idea of conducting an independent forensic audit. Councilmember Kim Brown and Mayor Pro-Tem Jana Shelton leaned favorable to the audit mentioning how hard the council has worked to restore public trust in the fallout of last year’s corruption scandal. Mayor Bradford, however, appeared more hesitant and requested no decision be made until the council receives the results of the two ongoing audits. “It will be wildly expensive to tell us pretty much nothing we don’t already know,” Bradford said. The council estimated the audit could cost around $100,000 and agreed to vote on the item during its next meeting. In other business the council: – Tabled discussion on adopting a new rules of procedure ordinance. – Tabled discussion on amending the city’s ordinance for appointing the Hanceville Fire Chief position to allow councilmembers a vote. – Appointed Mariah Hicks, Beth Ellis, Brianna Powell and Morgan Wasilewski to the newly developed Events Committee with Charles Wilson acting in an advisory, non-voting role. – Approved an extension to the city’s cell phone tower lease agreement. – Appointed Andrew Herren as the city’s new attorney after exiting a closed-door executive session to discuss the good name and character of a public employee.