City of Ithaca
Chief of Police Search Process
C.U. Prof Assists City With IPD Chief Search
The City of Ithaca will begin using a plan proposed by Cornell professor and a business consultant to search for the next police chief. Prof. William Trochim, Human Service Studies, and Mary Trochim of Concept Systems Inc. designed the five step process and offered it to the city on Sept. 25, according to William Trochim.
At Wednesday’s Common Council meeting, council members decided to implement the first step of the plan – formation of a start-up committee – after the Trochims further discussed their proposal and asked for commitment from council members.
Looking for Support
“We would like active confirmation that each Common Council member will support the process,” Mary Trochim said.Although several council members said they would not give hands-off approval, the council agreed to go forward with the plan.
“My discomfort is that we’ve been discussing the process for months, and now we’ve been told, “We have an idea and expect you to buy into it in a week,” said council member John Efroymson (D-2nd Ward).
The start-up committee, which includes four council members, the mayor and two council-appointed community members, will hash out decisions regarding the composition of the selection committee, criteria for candidates, and the phases of the process.
“I think that for the situation that we find ourselves in no, this is making the best of the situation,” said council and start-up committee member John Johnson (D-3rd Ward). “If [the Trochim plan] is followed, and there’s as much involvement as possible, Ithaca will end up with a police chief that the community supports.”
Adoption of the plan comes five months after the last police chief stepped down. Since May, the council has attempted to gain authority to approve the mayor’s choice for police chief.
“The concern for Common Council has been that we would be able to comment on and confirm the candidate,” Johnson said. In a referendum vote set for November 1997, Ithaca voters will decide whether to give the council power to approve appointments for future police chiefs. For the current selection, the Trochim plan will give council members some involvement in the process, but the mayor will make the final decision.
“The Mayor’s Process”
“The process is the mayor’s process – the selection committee, selection, and appointment. I have no objections [to the Trochims’ plan], but I don’t think it belongs to [the council],” said Pamela Mackesey (D-1st Ward), a common council and start-up committee member.At Wednesday’s Common Council meeting, Mayor Alan Cohen ’81 said he believes the way the city selects a police chief needs to be changed from previous processes. He was responsible for initially bringing the Trochims to the council to present their idea.
“We have a new mayor, and he is trying to think about how all these [selections] are done. He hasn’t been able to find a process until now,” Johnson said.
Other Phases
After the start-up committee completes its work, the police chief selection process will move into the hands of a selection committee that will pick six candidates for interviews.“From my perspective, the ideal selection committee would involve a member of Common Council, someone with law enforcement experience and people who have to deal with the police department,” Johnson said.
He added that he wants the committee to reflect the diversity of Ithaca and said it will possibly include a Cornell Student.
Once the committee interview the candidates, they will recommend three final people to the mayor, and he will make the final decision.
Deputy Police Chief David Barnes is currently serving as acting police chief.
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This project is sponsored in part by:
Concept Systems Incorporated |
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