Agenda - Council - 02/11/1997 - Laserfiche WebLink

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I I I I I I I I I I I I I I / CASE #: RECOMMEND PROCESS FOR REPLACING POLICE CHIEF By: Linda Waite Smith, Administrative Services Manager Background: Police Chief Mike Auspos is retiring, effective February 28, 1997. I am seeking direction on how the City Council wants to fill the resulting vacancy. Chief Auspos indicated in his retirement that although he does not seek a decision making role in the process, he would like to provide input. One option is to promote a qualified candidate from within. Legally, we are allowed to do this. Only one member of the department is qualified according to the job description as it currently exists. Exercising this option fills the opening immediately. It leaves the department short one position, however, in the patrol ranks. The hiring list established for the officer being added July 1 could also be used to hire the additional officer. Another option is to open the position to outside applicants as well as internal ones, using the process we use for all other City positions. It would take approximately three months to complete the process to fill the opening using this option. In the interim, the department would need an acting-police chief. If the job description is unchanged and the qualified internal candidate applies and is hired, some could say we have wasted time and money. Alternatively, it would confirm the validity of the appointment and avoid the public perception that it was a closed process done behind closed doors. A copy of our normal process is attached to this case. A third option is to hire a search firm. The Brimeyer Group is the best known search firm for public positions in Minnesota. I asked Jim Brimeyer for an estimate of the cost of his firm's assistance. A full fledged search would cost between $11,000 and $15,000, plus expenses, and would be guaranteed. In other words, if the person selected did not work out within one year, due to flaws in the screening process, the firm would conduct another search at no cost. It is possible to have Brimeyer do a "phased" search. Phase One is agreeing on a position profile. At the conclusion of that phase, if the internal candidate seems to fit the profile, the appointment can be made from within and the process is complete. If, at the end of Phase One, it appears an outside candidate might be a better fit for the position, the search continues to Phase Two, recruitment and selection. Phase Three is background checks, which can be done by the firm, for a fee, or done by the employer. Unless the firm does all phases of the process, it is not guaranteed. Councilmembe~s may have other suggestions about how they want to fill the upcoming vacancy. Committee Action: Motion to recommend a process for Council to use in replacing Police Chief Mike Auspos on his retirement.