Posted: Sep 11, 2012 4:23 PM by Connie Tran, KSBY News
Updated: Sep 12, 2012 7:34 AM
An update on the nationwide search for the permanent Santa Maria Police Chief. City Manager Rick Haydon said on Tuesday that they hope to have candidates set by November.
Haydon told KSBY that Interim Chief Ralph Martin has not expressed interest in the permanent job. He did say however, that he would like to possibly keep Martin on as a consultant once they hire a new police chief to keep the continuity and make the transition easier.
On Tuesday, KSBY obtained a copy of the employment agreement between the city of Santa Maria and Martin. It showed that Martin gets paid $90 an hour, but will not work more than 960 hours.
KSBY asked Haydon why he didn't just use an internal employee for the interim police chief position, he responded by saying that the police department staff is already stretched thin and he didn't want to load more work onto one person, like one of the commanders.
Haydon said they are not going to use a recruitment firm to find a new chief, which will save the city nearly $30,000. Instead, he said, they plan to use their own human resources department and the community's help in the search process. As part of that process, Haydon said they plan on holding community workshops, focus groups, and possible even have an online survey where residents can express qualities that they hope the next police chief will have.
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