Jackson moves closer to hiring police chief

The city of Jackson will be able to move forward with its search for a police chief on Friday after the county sheriff's department hands over its background checks today. It is another step toward filling the position in a process that has been ongoing for nearly six months.

Jackson Mayor Paul Sander said the city's six-person hiring committee will meet Friday morning to further narrow down the list of candidates.

In mid-February, city administrator Jim Roach said he had hoped to have the background checks within two weeks or a month.

More than six weeks later, the background checks are done.

Sander said he is ready to get the process rolling again.

"The finalists would hopefully be announced right away and we hope to bring those folks in fairly quickly," the mayor said. "I'm not upset, but I'm getting to the point where I want to get this done. It's not the committee's fault, it's just that the background process has taken a little bit longer than expected."

Sander is not alone in wanting to get the position filled quickly.

Alderwoman Val Tuschoff, a member of the hiring committee, said "I'm ready for this to get over with. It's a long, drawn-out affair. We could've interviewed first and did the background checks later, but I think we did it the right way. There's no use interviewing people if they don't pass the background."

Narrowing their choices

Tuschoff said she believed the committee will have narrowed down its finalists on Friday. She said the list stands at seven or eight now and the number of finalists will be determined partly by how many pass the background checks.

Alderman Phil Penzel said he fully expects the number to be reduced after Friday's meeting.

"I would be disappointed if it wasn't," he said. "We're going to have to make a decision one of these days."

On Oct. 21, former chief Marvin Sides resigned after an investigation into an allegation of sexual misconduct involving a female dispatcher. No criminal charges were filed against Sides.

Sander, who originally had hoped to have found a chief by March or April, said the position now looks to be filled some time in May.

bmiller@semissourian.com

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