5 Weeks Later, City Starts Search For Police Chief Search Consultant To Start Planning Search

The Elicker Administration has formally begun searching for a search firm to help find a new permanent police chief, over a month after the mayor first committed to taking a nationwide look for a new leader of the local police department.

According to the city’s so-called Public Purchasing Portal, the Elicker Administration first posted on Jan. 16 a request for proposals (RFP) for a search firm to help find a replacement for Acting Police Chief Renee Dominguez.

“The City has issued this Request for Proposal (RFP) for an appropriate and qualified, professional
Consultant to identify, recruit, and recommend qualified and viable candidates for Chief of Police,” reads the Purpose section of the RFP document.

“All recruiting and candidate identification processes should incorporate best practices currently used in the field and all bidders are further noticed that all proposals must meet all legal requirements and incorporate all relevant Federal EEOC guidelines.”

Mayor Justin Elicker told the Independent about the formal start to this national police chief search Monday morning after being asked for an update following an unrelated press conference in City Point. 

The search firm search started 41 days after the Board of Alders rejected Acting Chief Dominguez’s nomination to serve as permanent chief, 37 days after Dominguez announced her plans to retire after the city finds a replacement, and six days after Rev. Boise Kimber launched a lawsuit against the city for allegedly violating the City Charter by keeping Dominguez in place as acting chief indefinitely with no active plans to find her replacement. (In previous interviews, Elicker has said that he has the legal authority to keep Dominguez in her acting position indefinitely because he met the Charter’s requirement that he submit her name to the Board of Alders for a vote within six months of her stepping into the ​“acting” role.)

This RFP asks for consultants to ​“submit a proposal for how they’re going to help us recruit a police chief, and help support a national search,” the mayor told the Independent Monday. 

After the RFP submission date closes on Feb. 1, he said, his administration will then evaluate proposals and pick a consultant to hire to help with the process. 

After the city picks a consultant, that consultant will then work with the administration to ​“design a process” for both finding qualified candidates from across the country and for soliciting input from New Haven residents and city police officers like. Elicker said the ​“front end” of the public input process will likely take the form of community meetings.

In total, he said, the police chief search process will likely take at least four months to complete.

Click here and here to read more about the search firm RFQ.

In its Background section, the RFP document states that the salary range for the police chief is between $100,000 and $169,600.

It lists various Charter requirements for a police chief, including that the mayor’s police chief appointment is subject to approval by the Board of Alders; that the chief shall have had at least five years’ experience managing a police department of at least 200 employees in a city of at least 100,000 residents; and that the chief shall have at least a bachelor’s degree. 

See below for a full list of the police chief search consultant’s ​“scope of services,” as defined by the RFQ. 

1. The City of New Haven expects the successful respondent to develop a comprehensive position profile based upon information obtained in individual meetings with the Mayor, Chief Administrative Officer, Chief of Staff, and other stakeholders as directed. Additionally, the project schedule should include community stakeholder meetings with residents, including but not limited to surveys and focus groups.

2. The City of New Haven expects the successful respondent to review the current compensation level, Charter Requirements and develop a marketing strategy to overcome any identified obstacles using professional contacts, supplementing the candidate identification process through selected advertising and the use of the internet and the direct solicitation of known desirable candidates. Incorporate recruitment methods that will recruit a talented candidate pool with a diverse background, with an eye towards diversity in candidates, and a strong track record of community engagement.

3. The City of New Haven shall expect the selected respondent to include steps in the selection and hiring process that evaluates a candidate’s ability to integrate community-based policing principles; prioritize equity, diversity and inclusion in the Police Department organization and community; actively engage with residents and community groups; assess and implement policing best practices and innovative solutions to meet the demands of the New Haven community and residents.

4. The City of New Haven expects the successful respondent to implement a screening process that narrows the field of candidates to those that most closely match the needs of the City, including discussing results of preliminary reference checks on top candidates. The extent of screening to be conducted by the respondent will be determined by the Mayor or their designee.

5. The City of New Haven expects the successful respondent to conduct personal interviews with the top candidates that meet the stated criteria, if requested.

6. The City of New Haven expects the successful respondent to conduct criminal, driver’s, credit and related background checks.

7. The City of New Haven expects the successful respondent to deliver a product in the form of a search report that recommends the top group of candidates and provides the City with detailed information about their backgrounds and experience from interviews and other sources.

8. The City of New Haven expects the successful respondent to assist during the final interview and the selection process as requested.

9. The City of New Haven expects the successful respondent to assist, if requested, in negotiating a total compensation package with the desired candidate.

10. The City of New Haven expects the successful respondent to assist in establishing a process for the recruitment, including a timeline for actions during the recruitment process.