Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/780066
FEBRUARY 1-7, 2017 UCW 7 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM Another salute to the city of Fayetteville, which is about to do something right again. The city's management plans to include focus groups in its search for the next police chief. That's a foreign concept to Cumberland County government when it comes to choosing a top law enforcement public servant. City Manager Doug Hewett plans to look for a permanent police chief in February, according to a Jan. 20 memo to City Council members. The process will include – get this – some type of public participation. Fayetteville Police Chief Harold Medlock unexpectedly retired in September. Medlock was chief for a little more than three years, but he needed shoulder surgery. So, he decided it would be a good time to leave law enforcement altogether. Hewett, Medlock and three assistant chiefs picked Anthony Kelly, an assistant chief, as the interim chief. Kelly has a good reputation among his peers and the community. But, he's not sure that he will apply for the job. On Tuesday, Jan. 17, three days before his memo, I asked Hewett via email how and when he plans to hire a permanent police chief. He has yet to answer. I'm guessing he needed to let his elected leadership know of his plans first. Lucky for me, there are some on the City Council who are willing to keep their constituents informed. Hewett hired the Chapel Hill consulting firm Development Associates LLC to help recruit a chief. It will cost the city about $20,000, which he says is the going rate. The city used that same firm to recruit Medlock. Company founder Stephen Straus, his senior partner Heather Lee, and retired Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Rodney Monroe make up the recruiting team. Hewett points out in his memo that both Straus and Lee have PhDs. Straus also is a former assistant city manager for Southern Pines. The "public engagements" start Monday, Feb. 20, on President's Day. Hewett plans to use focus groups to find out what community issues the next police chief will walk into. Hewett expects applications by late February and to start assessment centers in mid-May. Assessment centers make applicants go through day-long interviews and make-believe scenarios that mimic what a chief might encounter. Government takes a long, long time to do what corporations do in half the time. Hewett's memo says he hopes to have a new chief hired near the start of the next fiscal year … that would be July. Let's hope taking almost five months and $20,000 to hire a police chief results in him or her staying longer than three years. OPINION JASON BRADY. Columnist. COMMENTS? Editor@upandcomin- gweekly.com. 910.484.6200. City Police Chief Recruiting Gets Under Way by JASON BRADY The city's search for a new police chief is under way. UCW Ad (4.75" x 5.87") Our Spring Quarter Classes begin March 6 Register Now!!! Carolina College of Biblical Studies 817 S. McPherson Church Road • Fayetteville, NC 28303 www.ccbs.edu (910) 323-5614 Flexible. Affordable. Military-friendly. Fully Accredited. Campus & Online.