Somerset —

Somerset Mayor Eddie Girdler has been served with a restraining order preventing him from taking any further actions that would interfere with the operations or administration of the Lake Cumberland Area Drug Task Force. Last month, Girdler and Acting Police Chief Doug Nelson took measures to separate the City of Somerset from the drug task force — removing several individuals as city employees, causing them to lose their retirement and insurance benefits, threatening to remove some agents’ police powers, and allegedly putting the task force in danger of losing federal funding. Yesterday a group comprised of “concerned citizens of Somerset, Ky.” — including Somerset city council members Pat Bourne, Jim Mitchell, John Ricky Minton, Tim Rutherford and Jim Rutherford, local businessman and former Girdler political opponent Bill Hamilton, and citizen Chad Ellnor — filed a restraining order, signed by Pulaski Circuit Judge Jeffrey T. Burdette, preventing Girdler from further widening the divide between the city and the drug task force. The order claims Girdler is violating an interlocal agreement which has been in effect since 1993. The order further states that, by removing the City of Somerset as the drug task force’s fiscal agent, Girdler is violating an agreement he signed in April of this year extending the city’s support of and involvement with the drug task force through June of 2011. The fact that the city has already agreed to pay the $27,500 in matching funds for a grant for the drug task force legally makes the city the administrative authority for the grant, the order claims. The City of Monticello has offered to swear in the drug task force agents as officers and to take over the drug task force’s payroll and paperwork. Drug task force director David Gilbert said, in fact, he and the other agents were scheduled to be sworn in as officers in Monticello today. The order, explained local attorney and former Somerset city attorney Joe Travis, requires Girdler to “leave things ‘as is’” with the Lake Cumberland Area Drug Task Force. If that happens, the agents won’t need to be sworn in under the City of Monticello, Travis said. Travis, who filed the order on behalf of the group yesterday, said Girdler could be held in contempt of court if he refuses to comply with the order. City Attorney Carrie Wiese said she had not yet seen the order, but that she would be passing the information along to Lexington attorney Charles Cole. Cole is legal counsel for the city’s insurance company and will represent Girdler in the matter. Mayor Girdler believes the order is merely an attempt by his foes to create problems in the months prior to the general election. Just hours after he was served with the restraining order, Girdler issued a written response, which reads: “Tim Rutherford, Bill Hamilton, and the others listed (as plantiffs on the order) are political opponents of the mayor and part of the old political machine of the past administration. Even the previous city attorney is involved. “It was our understanding that the City of Monticello had cooperated and agreed to swear in any officers in and help in the paperwork. We thank the City of Monticello for being the only one of the task force members, except Somerset, who even offered to work for a better program and service. “The lawsuit by the political faction lists items that have already been done for several weeks by the city staff. We will respond in the proper manner in protecting the interest of the citizens of Somerset. “We were notified last week that all of the future funding of the task force was frozen by the state until a site visit was done. Also, they admitted that they were not city employees, but only wanted city and taxpayer benefits. “I am proud of the 40 members of the Somerset Police Department, the two officers assigned to the city by Operation UNITE to fight illegal drugs, and our officer who has been assigned to deal with prescription drug misuse. Our officers are the most highly trained, educated, experienced, and dedicated to protecting and serving the City of Somerset. I go bed every night confident that our hard working and dedicated officers are very capable in keeping our city the safest in the nation. They are the best in preventing illegal drugs in Somerset. We will continue to cooperate with other cities and counties, but my faith is in our officers and the persons assigned to our police department.” The Lake Cumberland Area Drug Task Force is a multi-jurisdiction drug enforcement law enforcement agency. It was created in 1993 as a project of the Somerset Police Department. The LCADTF includes agencies in Pulaski, Wayne and McCreary counties.