SIMI VALLEY : City Delays Decision on New Police Chief
The hunt for Simi Valley’s next police chief will lag on 10 days past the original deadline so extensive background checks can be done on three unnamed front-runners, City Manager Mike Sedell said Wednesday.
Sedell said he decided to push back the July 21 deadline for naming a new chief until month’s end because “I want to make sure we’ve got the right fit. I don’t want to rush it for the sake of rushing it.”
The three finalists are police chiefs or commanders--Sedell would not say which: one from a Ventura County department, one from a department in Central California and one from Northern California.
They are vying for a post with an annual salary of $79,039 to $100,867.
Once the background checks are complete, Sedell is to decide who will replace former Chief Willard Schlieter.
Schlieter, hired in 1994 by a city-run nationwide search, quit last March amid complaints throughout his ranks that he was a weak commander. Then-City Manager Lin Koester appointed Capt. Richard Wright to be acting chief.
Under Wright, who did not apply for the chief’s job, the department is running smoothly, so there is no pressure to choose a chief immediately, Sedell said.
The Ventura County Sheriff’s Department will be checking out the finalists’ personnel records, police background and personal references, Sedell said.
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