Columbia seeks public input for police chief search
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
The City of Columbia has begun its national search for its next police chief.
Police Chief Geoff Jones announced his retirement on June 5. His last day is Tuesday, Aug. 1. The city manager said in June that the City planned to hire an outside search firm to help find candidates.
The City has hired Public Sector Search and Consulting, Inc., a search firm that specializes in recruiting police executives and managing the complex search process, according to a Monday press release.
The search is costing the City $60,000, and it hopes to have a new chief within six months.
The City has published a survey on its online engagement platform. The press release states the City believes input from the community and employees is crucial to finding the right person.
This input will be used to help develop the profile for the position, according to the release. The survey will remain open throughout the search process. The City hopes to announce a new chief of police by this fall.
"They're actually going to be helping shape the profile that's going to be used when selecting which candidates move forward," City spokeswoman Sydney Olsen said. "We have nine forums scheduled, one is open to the members of the public. This is an opportunity for members of the public and other various groups like religious leaders, education leaders in our community, and businesses."
One of the forums will include the Columbia Police Officers Association. CPOA President Matthew Nichols said they view the move as transparent, and they are glad to be involved.
"We want somebody who's fair and can lead our department and honestly, whoever it is, where it's an internal or an external candidate, they have got really, really big shoes to fill," Nichols said.
Anthony Willroth, of Hold Como Accountable, said he is glad to see the City ask for the community's input, but he has concerns.
"We're hopeful that the City will not just see this as an exercise and populism and not just the most popular answers that they receive, but actually take some time to examine the value of the input that they received from the community," he said.
Several community forums will be held in the next few weeks, according to its website:
July 7: Business Community Forum and Clergy Community Forum
July 8: Public Sector Search & Consulting will be hosting a community forum 10-11:30 a.m. at the Activity & Recreation Center, 1701 W. Ash Street. This forum is open to all members of the community and provides an opportunity to meet with and speak directly with the search consultant and provide in-person input to help shape a profile to be used in the search for candidates.
July 10: Columbia Police Department staff forum; Columbia Police Officers Association Forum
July 11: Civic Groups Forum and Education Community Forum
July 12: Citizen’s Police Review Board Forum and Community Interest Groups Forum
A number of the listed forums did not have a time or location announced.
The City stated in its press release that updates on the search will be available on its social media website and the public police search link.
