The Polson City Commission appointed the City of Polson Police Chief George Simpson as interim city manager during a special meeting on Thursday, April 23.

Current City Manager Ed Meece, who has submitted his resignation, recommended Simpson for the position. Meece and Simpson outlined Simpson’s separation from his current role, the responsibilities he will take on, and the transition plan, which was presented to the commission in the supplemental pages.  

Simpson started off his presentation to the commission simply, by jokingly wearing his Montana State University sweatshirt to win over Bobcat parent, Mayor Laura Dever. He said he considers this part of his oath as a police officer to serve in this position, and that he is interested in keeping the city on track.

He pointed out that he already has relationships with all the department heads and understands to some extent what they are all working on. The short-term plan, Simpson said, is to learn all the details he needs to and to “basically be tied to Mr. Meece’s hip,” until he leaves.  

“The other beauty of it is that I run a complex organization, public safety on the reservation, dealing with federal, state, tribal, local, all these different levels, requires so many conversations with all these other leaders and working that out,” Simpson said. “And it does as well in that position.”  

Simpson has been accepted into the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Va., to advance his law enforcement training. His training will take place from Sept. 28 to Dec. 10, and he will return to Polson after the training.  

Simpson detailed during the meeting that he would only be available to serve as city manager from the time Meece leaves on May 15 until he leaves for the academy on Sept. 21.  

“It would not be transformational leadership for me. It would be stability, keeping with the continuity of it, not running any agenda that I have, but running the agenda that the City Commission has and setting us up for the best success for the next city manager,” Simpson said.    

He is already preparing his staff for his absence while he is at the academy and will have Captain Mathieu Gfroerer take over operational control of the department. He noted that, if appointed interim city manager, his involvement with the police department would be limited to emergent situations requiring executive leadership.  

Simpson has a master's degree in public administration from the University of Montana, but has no intent to become the permanent city manager.  

Commissioner Lisa Rehard expressed concern about the timeline for this turnaround, as hiring a new city manager can be a lengthy process. In Meece’s experience, the process should take four to six months. He said Rehard is right, and the city could be in a position where the search isn’t complete before Simpson leaves.  

Rehard asked what would happen if they ended up in a position without a city manager, and Simpson said that it is a great point and that there should be a plan in place. He said that if the search doesn’t yield a manager before he leaves, they need to look at the current administration and determine whether someone else can serve as the manager.  

Simpson said they won’t wait until the 11th hour to figure out that plan. Meece added that there is additional talent on the team, and they should have a backup plan. He said whoever steps into that role, if needed, it should be discussed with the person beforehand.  

Dever asked whether Simpson would be willing to step back into the interim position when he returns from training if they are still looking for a manager. Simpson said he would, but he would give them another end date.  

“My predecessor did it for two plus years. That was not the plan, and it didn’t ultimately go the greatest,” he said.  

Former Police Chief Wade Nash served as city manager for two years before the city hired Meece. Nash was arrested for DUI in 2023 and “officially retired” from his role after the incident, according to previous Lake County Leader reporting.  

Simpson said he is a planner and believes in setting rules and end dates because that motivates people.  

“I will do the duty that the city needs me to do. I believe I should do that, but I'm the chief of police,” he said.  

Commissioner Carolyn Pardini was absent from the meeting. However, the present commissioners unanimously voted to have Simpson serve as the interim.  

Following this decision, Commissioner Jen Ruggless motioned for the city to do an in-house search for a new city manager. The commission voted for the motion.  

Rehard also motioned for the city to hire a facilitator, which would be determined and hired at a later date. The commission also agreed with the motion.  

More details to come on the commission's decisions about the future city manager hiring process in next week’s edition of the Leader.