City of Ithaca
Chief of Police Search Process
Community Forum Process

Press Release
November 12, 1996

Chief of Police
Community Forum Process

The City of Ithaca is selecting its next chief of police through a community-wide participatory process. Three community forums will be held in the next few weeks in order for citizens to define the characteristics that are necessary in an excellent chief of police. The results of these forums will be used as guidelines for hiring The Ithaca Police Department’s next chief. Alternate methods for providing input will be made for city residents who are unable to attend the public meetings. These methods include a phone line to call in contributions, drop boxes around the city where Ithacans can submit their opinions, and the use of the newspaper as a means of distributing a mail-in form to community members.

The first community forum, to be held on Monday, November 18th, at Beverly J. Martin Elementary School will provide interested citizens with an opportunity to brainstorm the characteristics that are important to them in the next chief of police. The second community meeting will take place on Tuesday, December 10th, also at Beverly J. Martin Elementary School, and will allow citizens to organize and rate the importance of the previously defined chief of police characteristics. The third forum, to be held in Mid-January, at a still to be decided location, will be used to interpret and discuss the implications of the guidelines set by the community. Mayor Cohen and Common Council strongly encourage all interested citizens to participate in any or all of these forums, or to submit opinions in one of the alternate manners. Child care will be provided at the forums.

The Mayor has appointed a start up committee which will select the members of the screening committee -- to be in place by November 18th -- the date of the first community forum. The start up committee’s role is to initiate the selection process and select representatives from the community to sit on the screening committee. Upon commencement of the screening committee, the start up committee will cease to exist. The screening committee will conduct the chief of police interview process and recommend final candidates to the mayor, who will then make the final selection.


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This project is sponsored in part by:
Concept Systems Incorporated
118 Prospect Street, Suite 309
Ithaca NY 14850
(607) 272-1206
(607) 272-1215 FAX
E-mail: concepthelp@conceptsystems.com
Website: Concept Systems Incorporated Website
Copyright © 1996, William M.K. Trochim