Without a police chief, Midlands city is leaning on consultant. Here’s how much he’s paid
With the resignation of its police chief in December, Cayce has hired a consultant to fill in the gaps as it searches for a new chief. The fee the city is paying for the consultant’s services is higher than the salary it was paying its previous chief.
The hiring of the consultant, West Columbia’s assistant police chief Bruce Wade, happened in January, according to a contract between both cities provided via a public records request. It also came a month after Cayce’s police chief Herbert Blake left the role less than three months into the job amid complaints from staff of harassment, bullying and discrimination.
Wade, who has been with the West Columbia police department for two decades, is serving in what the city referred to as an advisory role, meaning he can offer the department guidance, but doesn’t have decision-making power. As a result, Cayce is paying West Columbia around $11,000 each month for Wade’s advice, equivalent to about $132,000 annually.
In his role leading the staff of more than 70 people, Blake was set to make $115,000 annually, with the promise of a 5% salary increase after he’d been in the role for at least six months. That’s the same amount he was making when he started as the police chief in Buncombe County, N.C. in 2020, but pales in comparison to the nearly $143,000 he was making when he left that agency, according to salary information provided through a public records request. Blake, who was hired by the city in September, abruptly left the post on Dec. 13 with no explanation in his three-sentence resignation letter.
While Wade’s fee is higher than Blake’s salary, Cayce isn’t paying extra for Wade’s benefits. The cost for those is still being paid by West Columbia, a spokeperson for that city confirmed.
“Assistant Chief Wade ... is serving in an advisory position; not a full time employee of the City of Cayce,” a Cayce spokesperson said in a text to The State.
Wade is set to serve in the role until Cayce finds a new chief, or by the end of 90 days, per the contract. The contract went into effect Jan. 13, meaning it would expire in mid-April.
Should Wade decide to leave West Columbia to fill the chief position in Cayce or to take a different job there, Cayce would be on the hook to pay West Columbia more than $66,000, or six months of the fees for Wade’s services, according to a clause in the contract.
Having Wade serve in an advisory role is “not as common as bringing in an interim,” Jackie Swindler, the director of the Criminal Justice Academy, told The State in a previous interview. “In essence, it’s almost the same thing. You bring in somebody with some experience to come in and help oversee or manage the administrative process until you’re able to hire someone.”
Jim Crosland, Cayce’s city manager, is acting as the agency head for the time being, with Wade working alongside him as an advisor. It’s unclear how much Crosland is making in his role as city manager, which he was appointed to in December. The State has filed a public records request for the information.
