NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Hutchinson Interim City Manager Mary Grace Clements said the interviews with the candidates for the Police Chief opening in Hutchinson went well this past week.
"We've interviewed three candidates," Clements said. "We had two that were in state and one out of state and one is actually internal. It was a great run of interviews. We had three different panels. We had a panel made up of myself and four of my directors and we had a panel made up of the FOP, which is the local police union and then we had a panel made up of community members. Every one of those entities comes with a different perspective of what fills a need for them for the chief and it's important that we look at all those different perspectives when we're filling this vital role."
Clements intends to work through the process as quickly as prudent.
"We are going to be looking at some of the candidates again this week to ask some more questions and do some more due diligence," Clements said. "Check references and things of that nature. The process continues. I have been very vocal with saying that this process is so important. Number one, we don't want to rush the process, but number two, we're not going to drag our feet. We're going to do everything possible to get the right person in place as soon as possible."
Finding the right fit for Hutchinson is the primary goal of the search.
"For Hutchinson, it's very important that we have the right person that's community focused," Clements said. "That's going to keep our community safe, but they are also going to interact, they are also going to help build programs, help build and heal communities. It's vital that we're looking at every different aspect of the candidates."
Clements plans to make her final selection as soon as this week. She gave an update and got feedback from the City Council at a special meeting on Friday.
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