CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The Clearlake City Council this week will hold a public discussion on what process to use in selecting the city’s permanent police chief.
The meeting will begin at 6 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 23, in the council chambers at Clearlake City Hall, 14050 Olympic Drive. TV8 will broadcast the meeting live.
Craig Clausen, a longtime Clearlake Police Department member, has been filling the police chief’s role in an interim basis since Chief Allan McClain retired at the end of December 2010, as Lake County News has reported.
Speculation about whether the council would appoint Clausen permanently or hold an outside recruitment resulted in a large turnout at the council’s Feb. 9 meeting, when several people spoke to the council about which process to choose. Community sentiment has appeared split.
After that meeting, Interim City Administrator Joan Phillipe told Lake County News she would bring the matter back for discussion, and on Thursday she will ask the council for direction on how to proceed.
Phillipe’s report to the council explains that due to the number of interim city administrators the city has had since the end of 2010 – including City Engineer Bob Galusha, Steve Albright and herself – “the interim status of the chief has not been addressed.”
She is asking the council to consider both main selection options – Clausen’s permanent appointment or an open recruitment in which Clausen would be considered – and make a decision about which route to pursue.
As for the financial implications of the two options, Phillipe said a recruitment will result in costs including the possible use of a recruitment firm or advertising, a background investigation and review panel.
If there is no open recruitment, Phillipe said costs would be limited to staff time to negotiate and
prepare a contract that includes the chief’s annual salary and benefit costs.
Phillipe said any proposed contract for the police chief must be placed on a council meeting agenda for final consideration and approval.
In other business, the council will consider a proposed policy drafted by the law firm representing the city relating to the use of the council chambers and Public, Education, and Government (PEG) Channel 8 for candidate forums.
Also on the agenda, the council will present a proclamation declaring June 22 to Sept. 21 as the Summer of Peace, and Sept. 21 as the International Day of Peace in Clearlake; discuss a request for $5,000 to support the Summer of Peace and consider a proposal to construct a peace pole in Austin Park; hold a discussion on council goals and objectives from a Feb. 2 workshop; and designate signatories for city and redevelopment successor agency bank accounts.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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