18 apply for chief
- Published: November 13, 2014
When the Village stopped taking applications for the position of Yellow Springs police chief on Oct. 31, the municipality had 18 candidates from both inside the department and as far as Rhode Island, according to Village Manager Patti Bates, who will hire the next chief. So far, the hiring process is on schedule, and the Village is set to name the next chief in mid-December, Bates said this week.
The hiring process includes an initial review of applications and scheduling of interviews for finalists the week of Nov. 10, followed the next week by a possible second round of finalist interviews. The week of Nov. 24 (Thanksgiving week) will be an opportunity for the public to meet the finalists. Village Council then plans to interview approximately three finalists the week of Dec. 1, followed by a physical/psychological review of the candidates and a recommendation from Bates for Council’s approval at the Dec. 15 meeting.
A committee of citizens and Village representatives will be involved in the entire selection process, from reviewing the initial applications to interviewing the final candidates. According to Bates, the committee is composed of some Village personnel, including Bates, Village Finance Director Melissa VanZant, Council members Brian Housh and Lori Askeland, Mayor Dave Foubert, Yellow Springs Sergeants Josh Knapp and Naomi Penrod, as well as Yellow Springs officer Tom Sexton and dispatcher Rita Check, who were each chosen by their peers. Also on the committee is Sue Madsen, the police chief of Miami Township (near Milford where Bates now lives), Presbyterian Church minister Aaron Saari, Yellow Springs School counselor John Gudgel, village resident TJ Turner, a civilian scientist and Air Force reserve member who works as a federal agent for the Department of Defense, as well as life-long villager Leslie White, a former Village Human Relations Commission member and mother of two Yellow Springs High School students.
Neither Yellow Springs sergeant qualifies for the chief’s position, according to Bates. But the Village received applications from two internal candidates, as well as several from the Miami Valley region and elsewhere in Ohio, and a few from out of state.
Qualifications for the chief’s position include an associates degree (bachelors preferred) in criminal justice, public administration or a related field; 10 years experience as a sworn police officer and three years in a command or supervision position; certification as a peace officer by the Ohio Peace Officers Training Commission; current firearms certification/qualifications; and LEADS practitioner certification. Go to http://www.yso.com for the complete list of requirements.
With the exception of the bachelors degree preferred, the qualifications are very similar to the ones the Village used to hire former Chief Anthony Pettiford in 2012. At that time, the Village hired Management Partners to lead the search with an eight-member Village-citizen hiring committee. Since that time, the Village has learned a lot, Council member Brian Housh said last week, about how to manage a search process with strategic placement of solicitations and networking for possible candidates.
In an effort to connect villagers with the current YSPD, the Village invites the public to a gathering to get to know current police personnel on Monday, Nov. 17, 5–6:30 p.m. in Bryan Center Rooms A and B.
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