There are no short-term prospects for solving the problems of the La Maddalena Municipal Police force , which has been without a full-time commander for years, without a deputy commander, and with only four officers currently on duty , out of a mere six. The opposition council approved a resolution to this problem yesterday, in a so-far futile attempt to shake the municipal administration, led for five years by Mayor Fabio Lai, from its inertia on this issue.
The proposed resolution, put forward by opposition group leaders Franco Vittiello and Annalisa Gulinio, and councilors Giovanni Manconi, Stefano Cossu, and Alberto Mureddu, consisting of a "guideline document for the implementation of the principles of seniority and rank within the local police force for the purpose of identifying the acting coordinator in the commander's absence," stalled following statements from Tomasina Manconi, the general secretary (in the absence of commanders and deputies, including the director and head of the Local Police Force), who objected that the proposed resolution, formally a guideline document, falls under the jurisdiction of the city council, but in fact and legally—given its precise and detailed content—it falls under the jurisdiction of the city council, lacking the necessary technical opinion for approval.
The municipal secretary also noted that it is currently impossible to appoint a deputy commander among the municipal police employees, as they are all Category C, not Category D, as required by current legislation. The proposed resolution has therefore been withdrawn, to be reworked and presented at a future city council meeting.
In the meantime, the Lai Administration, which only hired one seasonal traffic warden for the past tourist season, has no choice but to finally announce a competition for commander and perhaps—if possible and permitted by law—some internal competitions that could allow, with a promotion to a higher category, the appointment of a deputy commander.
