POULSBO — With less than a month until Poulsbo Police Chief Jeff Doran’s retirement, the rumor mill continues to turn as to who the interim police chief will be.
Tuesday afternoon Mayor Kathryn Quade spoke out on the issue in an attempt to quell the whirlwind of gossip that was subsequently highlighted by an advertisement in the Feb. 28 North Kitsap Herald. The ad, which was purchased by the Save the Poulsbo Police Department Committee, publicly asked Quade four questions about the issue. Committee chairman Steve Hancock said Quade’s refusal to meet with the committee led to the unorthodox forum.
“We’d love to hear from her, and we’re able to meet with her when she has time,” Hancock said. “She can’t dodge us.”
Quade said she is working with the city council to find an interim police chief to serve until the completion of both the department’s ongoing process study and a nationwide search led by Bellevue-based Prothman Company. The consultant has conducted numerous police chief searches.
“It will not be anyone from the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office,” Quade said in response to allegations to the contrary.
But Quade’s defensiveness on the issue is not without merit.
In the first draft of the department’s process study, contracting with the KCSO was listed as a comparison item. An organized uproar from the community followed and the language was removed from the study by the city council Feb. 7.
Poulsbo City Councilwoman Kimberlee Crowder corroborated Quade’s statements about the interim police chief issue.
“We are looking at a group of people who does this for living,” Crowder said, referring to a list being provided to the city by Proffman.
Instead of bringing someone from outside the city as interim chief, Hancock said the department has three sergeants who are fully capable of serving in the interim.
“I see right now in our police department one of three sergeants, who could step up,” he said. “They can do a search within 90 days.”
When Doran has been on vacation or out of the city for training, those sergeants have filled in and done an admirable job, Hancock said.
The process study itself shouldn’t delay the city’s search for a new police chief, he said.
“The process study will tell us one of two things: whether we need to hire new officers or keep the status quo,” Hancock said.
But the integrity of the process study is exactly why city officials are looking to bring an interim chief from outside the department, Crowder said.
“We want to have as effective of a process study as possible,” she said.
The department is already stretched to its limit personnelwise and taking one of the sergeants from their current duties to serve as interim chief would only exacerbate the problem, she said.
“We love our police department and want to help them,” Crowder said.
By not having one the department’s sergeants serve as interim chief, both Quade and Crowder said it should help maintain a level playing field for anyone who is interested in applying for the permanent position.
