PCOB Chair Devon Snyder said the provisional appointment is meant to keep the Office of the Independent Monitor functioning during a leadership transition and to protect the long-term independence of the city's civilian oversight system.

"The Board's decision to move forward with Rebecca Kemble's provisional appointment is intended to preserve continuity within the Office of the Independent Monitor and protect the long-term independence of Madison's civilian oversight framework," Snyder said in a statement. "The PCOB is not seeking new authority. The Board remains committed to transparency, accountability, and meaningful civilian oversight in service to the residents of Madison."

But City Attorney Michael Haas said the board cannot provisionally appoint an interim monitor without approval from the Human Resources director, and cannot appoint a permanent monitor without Common Council approval. He pointed to a council resolution directing that the Common Council Chief of Staff supervise the Office of the Independent Monitor until a permanent monitor is hired or the council orders otherwise.

"As I indicated in the meeting last night, the Board is not able to provisionally appoint an interim IM without approval from the HR Director, nor a permanent IM without approval from the Common Council," Haas said in a statement Tuesday.

Snyder said he received different guidance from Human Resources Director Erin, who told the board it had the authority to make a provisional appointment and that the HR director would provide final sign-off.

"The director of HR Erin did say that we had the authority to provisionally appoint someone, and when you provisionally appoint someone, the final sign off is the HR director," Snyder said.

Despite the disagreement, Snyder said he hopes Kemble's addition to the office will help build a stronger relationship between the monitor's office and the rest of city government.

"Even though we did this, we still want to work collaboratively with the common council, HR, the city attorney, but that collaboration should not require silence, compliance or acceptance of limitations on our actual authority," Snyder said.

The appointment follows the Common Council's early-morning vote on Wednesday, Oct. 21, to fire former interim Independent Police Monitor Aeiramique Glass. Since then, Common Council Chief of Staff Karen Kapusta-Pofahl has been supervising the Office of the Independent Monitor on a temporary basis until a permanent monitor is hired.

The dispute raises questions about the independence of Madison's civilian oversight framework, which was created to provide accountability over the police department. Community members who have pushed for stronger oversight have argued that the monitor's office must be insulated from political pressure to function effectively.

It remains unclear when the Common Council or HR director might act on Kemble's provisional appointment, or whether the council will challenge the board's move. Kemble, who represents a Madison district on the Common Council, would bring legislative experience to the monitor's office if the appointment is confirmed.