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player ready...Park Ridge will soon hire an executive search firm to begin recruiting for a successor to Police Chief Frank Kaminski, who will retire in May.
Administrative Services Manager Leisa Niemotka told aldermen at a Feb. 6 Committee of the Whole Meeting that City Manager Joe Gilmore would appoint an interim chief to bridge the gap between Kaminski’s May retirement and the hiring of a permanent successor.
To begin, Niemotka said, the executive search firm would seek feedback from both City Council and Park Ridge residents about who should next lead Park Ridge Police. She expected a timeline between 18 and 20 weeks to find, vet and hire a new chief, she said.
“We’re perhaps looking at a new police chief by fall,” she said.
Niemotka said she’d ask aldermen for the go-ahead to spend on a contract with an executive search firm at the Feb. 21 meeting and requested to waive the second reading of the approval in service of efficiency.
“I want to expedite the recruitment process,” she said.
The firm will work with the city on the interview and selection process, the job posting language and advertising the position, Niemotka said. There is not yet a cost estimate for hiring a search firm, she added.
City Council will not formally approve the hiring of the police chief, but will “advise and consent” to Gilmore’s appointment of a candidate.
The position would also be circulated internally to current employees of the Park Ridge Police Department, Niemotka said.