Butler City Council is expected to appoint new police and fire chiefs this week. These appointments could signal a paradigm for better leadership in law enforcement and public safety in Butler for years to come. Or maybe not. Suffice it to say, the potential for turnaround exists, and with that potential there is hope for improvement.

No one is more deserving of good leadership than the rank and file of our police and fire departments. They’ve been dong their job under less than ideal conditions for months on end. They’ve had no difficulty identifying the weak links in their chain of command.

Questions about police department leadership had been building for months when the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 32, which represents the Butler department’s officers, cast a no-confidence vote in June against Chief Ron Brown and Deputy Chief Dave Adam.

In a statement, the union said the vote was prompted by a lack of leadership and poor decision-making, a lack of strategy in addressing current criminal activity in the city and a lack of cooperation with news media.

Mayor Ben Smith responded by placing Brown and Adam on paid leave in late July. Both men subsequently retired.

The fire department has gone even longer without an individual in charge. Chief Nick Ban retired in April 2016 rather than accept a demotion in rank from then-mayor Tom Donaldson. Donaldson subsequently was defeated by Smith in his bid for a second term as mayor.

Three months later, it appears that Smith and council have completed their process of considering what they want out of their police leadership. They have considered the concerns of the FOP’s rank and file. They have had ample opportunity to talk to the people who live, work and pay taxes here to gauge what the people of Butler expect from their police and fire operations.

In the case of the fire chief appointment, officials acknowledge the growing pressure on municipal government to do more with less. They plan to share the cost and benefit of a paid, full-time fire chief with Butler Township, which itself is undergoing its second consolidation in four years, ultimately turning five fire companies into one.

From the outset of these appointments, it would seem prudent and healthy for the new chiefs to articulate clearly and fully their mission statement — goals and intentions. Specifically, how will the police chief and fire chief address the concerns of their rank-and-file officers regarding service, training, promotions and communications with the public.

There is a contract of sorts between the public and the individuals who will be appointed this week. They serve at the pleasure of the mayor and the city council, who in turn serve at the pleasure of the electorate. With that notion squarely in focus, it seems prudent to get everyone informed from the start what the game plan ought to be, in an earnest attempt to get everyone pulling in the same direction.