Within a week, two city officials expect to pick the firm that
picks Gilroy’s next police chief, initiating a six-month search
culminating in outgoing city administrator Jay Baksa’s final choice
of a chief.
Gilroy – Within a week, two city officials expect to pick the firm that picks Gilroy’s next police chief, initiating a six-month search culminating in outgoing city administrator Jay Baksa’s final choice of a chief.
Five firms are contending for the job out of six solicited by the city’s human resources department, said HR director LeeAnn McPhillips. What the firm will do has yet to be hammered out, said McPhillips, but a search firm typically helps the city develop a profile for an ideal chief, advertises the job across networks of would-be chiefs, and winnows down candidates before panels grill the cream of the crop.
The choice marks the beginning of the chief’s recruitment, months after the police union urged a speedy start to the process. Gilroy’s Police Officers Association pressed for recruitment to start immediately in March in a written statement that condemned the quiet retirements of both current Police Chief Gregg Giusiana and then-Assistant Chief Lanny Brown for eroding trust and morale within the department. Both chiefs legally retired last winter without notifying officers or City Council, then returned to work part-time through an agreement with Baksa, saving the city more than $100,000 but angering officers and some council members who said they should have been informed.
City officials disregarded the union’s demand, waiting until June to begin recruitment by hiring a search firm. Baksa said the hiring was scheduled last fall, when Giusiana and Brown planned their retirements, and couldn’t be moved up because the HR department has limited staff.
“There’s only so many hires we can do a month,” Baksa explained, adding that there’s no rush: “Gregg is doing a fine job … He’s still an effective police chief.”
POA president Jim Callahan declined to comment on the timing of the chief’s recruitment.
Interim chief unlikely
Under the current schedule, the city will screen applications in August, interview top candidates in September, complete background checks in October, make an offer in November, and hire its new chief in December 2007 or January 2008, just as Baksa leaves his post as city administrator. Baksa will choose the chief, with council’s approval, from a handful of applicants interviewed by panels of community members, other department heads, the POA and city administrators.
Many council members said they weren’t concerned by Baksa selecting a chief he wouldn’t be working with.
“I have every confidence that Jay wants to leave our city in the best condition he possibly can,” said Councilman Dion Bracco. Besides, he added, “The hiring process is so complex, by the time it gets to the city manager, you have the best of the best of the candidates” to choose from.
Councilman Paul Correa agreed, and Councilman Roland Velasco said the alternative – waiting to hire a chief until a new city administrator is installed – was undesirable. (Councilman Peter Arrellano could not be reached before press time.) But Councilmen Russ Valiquette and Craig Gartman argued that the final say should go to Baksa’s replacement.
“I really think it would be in everybody’s best interest,” Valiquette said, noting that a new council will be elected in November and a new city manager selected in January. “Maybe this new council and this new city manager would want the PD to go in a different direction … If I left work and someone was coming in to replace me, I wouldn’t want to start appointing people to high positions as I’m leaving.”
Gartman argued that Baksa’s “strained relationship with the Police Officers Association” was another factor.
“I believe that the new city administrator should be the one that selects the police chief that’ll be working with them,” he said. “Not the person who is walking out the door.”
An interim chief could fill the gap as Baksa leaves, allowing the new city administrator to select the chief he or she would be working with, Valiquette said. In the past, interim chiefs have filled vacancies at the Gilroy Fire Department, buying time for the department to find a new head.
City officials aren’t planning to hire an interim chief, said McPhillips. Baksa argued that picking a permanent chief as soon as possible after Giusiana’s departure would ease the transition, and that interim chiefs can stall growth in a department.
“It’s like you’re holding your breath,” said Baksa. “The sooner we can have a new chief come in after the other chief leaves, the more stable it will be.”
Moreover, he said, his impact on the chief selection would be minimal, because any candidate would have to pass muster with a series of panels ranging from community members to police officers to department heads.
Growing city,
stagnant budgets
There’s no one way to pick a police chief, said Fremont Police Chief Craig Steckler, a former president of the California Police Chiefs Association and co-author of police textbooks “Fundamentals of Police Administration” and “Written and Interpersonal Communication Methods for Law Enforcement.”
“The procedures for selecting a new police chief are as varied as the police departments in California,” said Steckler. Hiring a professional headhunter costs between $10,000 and $50,000 and may yield a broader pool of candidates, but may be unnecessary if a qualified in-house candidate exists, he said.
In Gilroy, the most likely in-house candidates are captains Debbie Moore and Scot Smithee; the department’s third captain, Kurt Svardal, was only recently promoted to the rank. Neither Moore nor Smithee could be reached Wednesday to say whether they would apply for the job.
Though procedures vary widely, a popular trend is holding panels to interview police chief candidates, much like the process used to select Gilroy’s new school superintendent. The city uses a multi-panel process to choose department heads, and has included the union in the past, said McPhillips. Thus far, no one has met with the POA regarding the next chief, said union president Jim Callahan. Nor has the council discussed the issue, said Valiquette.
The search firm will help McPhillips and Baksa develop a profile of an ideal chief, said McPhillips. Considering the qualities of an ideal police chief, council members emphasized Gilroy’s growing population and stagnating budget. Bracco said an ideal chief should come from a city as large or larger than Gilroy, who is well-acquainted with gangs and graffiti; Velasco noted that Gilroy has increasing numbers of seniors and of youth, with very different, growing needs.
“I’d want someone with experience working in a diverse community,” added Correa. “Someone who’s worked with communities of color, who understands gender issues and public safety, of course – that’s critical.”
Baksa said the city’s needs would take a creative chief with proven leadership skills.
“It’s being able to live within a time when shrinking resources and expanding service needs are occurring,” Baksa concluded. “It’s a never-ending issue. It’s going to take someone who can think outside the box.”
