County of Kent issued the following announcement on Jan 6.
The City of Grand Rapids and its hired executive search firm, Public Sector Search & Consulting Inc. (PSSC), will host a public forum Wednesday, Jan. 19 to introduce the candidates for Grand Rapids police chief. The event will take place from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the 9th Floor City Commission Chambers in City Hall, 300 Monroe Ave. NW. It will also be cablecast on Comcast Channel 26 and streamed live on the City’s Facebook and YouTube channels.
The candidates, who will be announced next week, will provide brief remarks and answer questions provided from the community. Those questions may be asked in-person at the event, via the livestream chat on Facebook or YouTube, or submitted in advance HERE by 5:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 17. Those without internet access can submit their questions in advance via 311 or 616-456-3000. Spanish-language interpretation services will be provided during the forum.
“While it is ultimately my responsibility to hire a chief of police, residents will continue to have a voice in the process of selecting our next chief,” City Manager Mark Washington said. “Public safety and resident engagement is essential for a thriving community, and the next chief will be fundamentally responsible for carrying out the vision articulated in the City’s and department’s strategic plans.”
Once the public has a chance to watch and listen to what the police chief candidates have to say at the forum, Washington wants to know what they think of each candidate via a web survey. The survey will go live following the forum and be available for comment through 5 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 26. Those without internet access will be able to participate in the survey via 311 or 616-456-3000.
The nationwide recruitment for Grand Rapids’ next police chief began last fall and garnered interest from 35 law enforcement professionals from across the country. Input from 26 different Grand Rapids stakeholder input sessions, four virtual community input forums and a public online survey seeking the attributes and characteristics of the ideal candidate informed the final recruitment profile. Following the December 10 application deadline, PSSC screened individuals who best matched the profile and desired characteristics articulated by the community.
PSSC is now working with Washington to further examine the candidates that will advance and appear at the forum. The City will announce the selected finalists in the days ahead.
Original source can be found here.
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