UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS - Less than three weeks since he took over as the top cop here, Chief Ron Fort said he plans to expand his department.

"I'm in the process of hiring one more officer right now," Fort said, adding he also plans to hire a fifth reserve officer in addition to the fourth full-time officer. "If the people I've talked to come back with a positive answer, it will be within the week."

Fort, a 34-year veteran with the Iowa City Police Department before retiring in 2001, officially took over the University Heights Police Department on July 14. Fort, 61, replaced Brian Shimon, who served on the department for nine years - the last three as chief.

Shimon, 38, said he left the Police Department partly because he found a different job that offered better benefits. Shimon declined to say where he works now other than it is a private sector job.

Shimon's last day with the department was July 2.

"I got a nice plaque, a nice thank you and a nice hug from the mayor," Shimon said. "I've been a cop since I was 18, so I was tired of it."

Fort started his law enforcement career at the Iowa City Police Department in 1967. He retired from there as a lieutenant when it no longer became economically feasible to stay, he said.

"I maxed my pension at 30 years, and I stayed four years plus just because I liked what I did," Fort said. "So finally, it got to the point financially to where it wasn't proper to stay."

Fort took a job in the freight department at Scheels All Sports at the Coral Ridge Mall before University Heights city officials approached him for the chief position.

Fort said returning to law enforcement wasn't a tough decision.

"I enjoy it. I enjoy police work in general," he said. "You deal with the public all the time at all levels."

City councilor and police committee chairman Stan Laverman said Fort was among three candidates for the job. Fort's experience and reputation in the community put him above the rest, Laverman said.

Laverman said Fort will earn $35,000 with benefits as chief.

"Shimon did a great job for us, but he was a lot younger, and we always wondered if we were going in the right direction," Laverman said. "We saw it as an opportunity to get somebody in there with a lot of experience."

Fort said he hopes to serve the community of 928 residents by decreasing speeders, keeping burglaries down, maintaining the status quo and "doing what the public wishes to have done in their community."