Iowa City lays out plan for selecting new police chief

IOWA CITY - The City of Iowa City hopes to have its new police chief selected by November.

In a news release on Monday, Interim City Manager Geoff Fruin laid out plans to hire a replacement for former Chief Sam Hargadine, who retired at the end of June. Fruin said city staff is to spend the remainder of July finalizing a 'police chief recruitment profile” to be used throughout the search process. Representatives from Georgia-based Slavin Management Consultants, a public sector executive recruitment firm, are to aid in developing the profile and assist in all aspects of the search, Fruin said.

'We want to create a profile that expresses the values of the community, as well as the characteristics and qualifications our city desires in the next chief of police,” Fruin said in a statement.

Once the recruitment profile is completed, the application period opens. The City Manager's Office is to then winnow the pool of applicants to a group of semifinalists to be interviewed by a selection committee comprised of local police, city staff and community members.

The finalists are to be publicly named after formal interviews and participate in final interviews and a meeting with the general public.

Fruin is to appoint the new chief after receiving feedback from the selection committee and general public. That appointment requires confirmation from both the Civil Service Commission and the Iowa City Council.

The city's contract with Slavin Management Consultants could be worth almost $25,000. The base consulting fee is $16,505, which pays for things like the consulting, advertising and background checks of candidates. Reimbursement fees for the consultants' travel to Iowa cannot exceed $8,252, said assistant city manager Simon Andrew.

The public is encouraged to provide input throughout the search process. Comments can be sent to policechiefsearch@iowa-city.org or mailed to or dropped off at City Hall.

Capt. Troy Kelsay has been serving as Interim Police Chief since July 1. However, the Interim Chief can only serve for 90 days, meaning a second Interim Chief is likely to be selected before the completion of the selection process.

- Gazette reporter Madison Arnold contributed to this report.