The city of Jamestown is looking for a new public safety director and chief of police after Rex Rater, who has served in those positions for more than four years, announced his retirement Friday morning.
Rater's retirement will be effective March 29. His announcement comes almost exactly one month after Lance Hedlund, the city's former deputy fire chief, announced his retirement, which was effective Jan. 29. The duo had a combined 71 years of service - Rater with 39 and Hedlund with 32.
''The first 18 years of my career, I worked rotating shifts and worked nights, weekends and holidays throughout most of my career,'' Rater said. ''That's okay, because it goes along with the profession. But my family has always taken a back seat to my job and, while they've been absolutely terrific and very understanding about it, it's time for them to come first.''
Rater spent 35 years with the Chautauqua County Sheriff's Department.
He began his career there as a patrolman in 1971. By 1975, he was promoted to sergeant - the youngest person in department history to earn such a promotion. In 1999, he was made a lieutenant and, by 2002, had been promoted to captain.
In September 2005, he was appointed the county undersheriff, a position he held for less than a year before becoming the city's police chief and public safety director in March 2006.
Rater enjoyed a number of ''firsts'' in his career with the county Sheriff's Department - he was the department's first full-time narcotics officer, its first trained helicopter pilot and a member of the department's first SWAT team.
''It has been a wonderful experience,'' Rater said of his career. ''I've been lucky to have been involved in something that I really enjoy and have enjoyed doing. But it's time for me, on a personal level, to go do some other things and time to let someone else have the opportunity that I did. Do I have any regrets? If I do, they're so few that I don't even remember them.''
Throughout his four-year tenure with the city, Rater said he has enjoyed ''great cooperation'' from city administrators, council members and employees.
''Sure, there have been times when we haven't seen eye-to-eye and there have been a lot of frustrations,'' he said. ''But at the end of the day, you've got to make the best choices you can and in that regard I have enjoyed great cooperation. I think it's safe to say we have had more good days than bad.''
Mayor Sam Teresi said he was ''appreciative'' of the ''four outstanding years of service he gave to Jamestown.'' Initial plans were that Rater would retire in the spring of 2011, but Teresi said ''nobody can fault him'' for wanting to ''spend time with the grandkids.''
''We talked about this a couple of times and I was always hoping he'd change his mind,'' Teresi said of Rater. ''He has done an outstanding job and we are sorry to see him leave, but I can definitely appreciate his desire to do a little relaxing and enjoy life. Nobody can fault him for that.''
Rater has been a major player in consolidation talks between the city police department and the county Sheriff's Department and his retirement has raised concerns that those talks might be jeopardized. But Rater said Friday that one person won't ''make or break'' consolidation talks.
''No one individual will make or break the process,'' he said. ''There are so many interested parties taking a very active role in exploring consolidation. There isn't a 'linchpin' component. It's a test of money savings and government efficiency. If consolidation makes sense from those perspectives, we should do it. If it doesn't accomplish at least one of those two things, then why bother? Whether I'm there or not, those questions will be answered and answered well.''
Teresi agreed. While Teresi said he hoped Rater would retire in 2011 instead of 2010 in part because consolidation talks are under way, Teresi said Rater's retirement would not be a setback.
''We will proceed as best we can,'' Teresi said. ''He has definitely been a key contributor and a leader in the consolidation process. His retirement is definitely a loss, but I wouldn't characterize it as a setback. It's an issue that we'll have to address and compensate for, but it won't cause the process to come to a grinding halt.''
The search for a replacement will be ongoing, Teresi said. With Rater's assistance, Teresi said he would ''reach out'' to people both within the Jamestown Police Department and from other law enforcement organizations who ''may have the necessary credentials, experience and interest.''
The position of police chief and public safety director is filled by mayoral appointment with input from the City Council, which must ratify Teresi's decision by a majority vote.
''When you lose a guy like Rex - when you lose someone with that kind of experience, impact, and perspective - it's going to have an impact on your operation,'' Teresi said. ''But as my father always said, the true test of a leader is not how smoothly things operate while you're there, but how they go once you're gone. I think the police department will, even after Rex leaves, continue to uphold its fine tradition of service and will continue to be a very effective department. That's going to be his legacy.''
