Fresno leaders want residents to weigh in on city’s police chief search. How to participate
City of Fresno leaders want residents’ input on the search for its 24th police chief through a survey and a series of community meetings, officials said Thursday.
Mayor Jerry Dyer and City Manager Georgeanne White said in the announcement they had selected Rocklin-based Public Sector Search and Consulting, which they said specializes in recruiting for executive police jobs.
“It’s one I never heard of but in looking at some of the other entities that they had done searches for, we felt they would be a really good fit for Fresno,” Dyer said Thursday in an interview with The Bee. “They’d had some great successes out there.”
The announcement was the first glimpse at how city staffers intend to find a chief, and looked similar to the last search that ended in 2020 with the selection of former chief Paco Balderrama.
City leaders have already met with about 40 members of the community, including nonprofit, health care, labor and religious leaders, Dyer said.
The list of desired qualities from those meetings were handed over to the search firm looking for the new chief, he said.
Dyer said the candidates will be whittled to about five or six candidates later in the process and interviewed by committees made up of community members. He said he estimated there would be three or four committees, but those committees and their members have not yet been determined.
Residents can weigh in on the police chief search through an online survey expected to be available in the coming week, according to city staffers. Employees of the Fresno Police Department will weigh in on the search, as well, through an internal survey.
The firm has been charged with holding four virtual meetings to hear from the public this month.
- Friday, Oct. 18 at 11:30 a.m.
- Saturday, Oct. 19 at 10 a.m.
- Tuesday, Oct. 22 at 5:30 p.m.
- Wednesday, Oct. 23 at 7 p.m.
The search for Fresno police chief
Interim Chief Mindy Casto has led the Fresno Police Department since July following a scandal in the department and the resignation of Paco Balderrama.
Balderrama, Fresno’s 23rd chief, announced his resignation after his extramarital affair with another officer’s spouse became public.
Dyer said Thursday he consulted in the previous search, led by then-Mayor Lee Brand, that led to Balderrama’s hiring.
He said the hiring of Balderrama from the outside proved to him that it’s important the next search looks both internally and externally for a leader. Dyer has repeatedly voiced support for Balderrama.
The last search for a full-time police chief hit its own speed bumps, temporarily landing on Deputy Chief Andy Hall — a 40-year FPD veteran who did not apply for the top position — to be the next chief for about a year while the city continued to look and eventually hired Balderrama.
Dyer said the city has learned from the previous search and can improve for the next one.
“I think one of the things that we are trying to do better is take our time to identify the right search firm, and to make sure we have an agreed upon process going forward involving council member feedback and community feedback,” he said.
This story was originally published October 10, 2024 at 1:32 PM.
