Attorney: Police chief list must go to mayor

Grand Coulee’s legal counsel has advised the city’s Civil Service Commission that their list of top candidates for police chief must be delivered to the mayor, not the city council.

In an email, City Attorney Chuck Zimmerman advised the city that the Civil Service needs to follow the “rule of three” as outlined in state law.

Earlier, Civil Service Commission Chair Alan Cain had stated that the top three candidates would be given to the council, bypassing Mayor Chris Christopherson.

Zimmerman told the CSC that it must forward the top three candidates, their applications and test scores to the mayor for his selection.

“The process does not authorize the council to make the selection,” Zimmerman stated in his email. “The council’s role is to consider whether it should confirm the selection submitted to the council by the mayor.”

The city council had approved an ordinance presented by Zimmerman in November that states that the city council will have confirmation status in regard to the selection of a police chief.

That was an apparent compromise position offered during a months-long tussle between the commission and the mayor, who has sought to remove the chief of police position from civil service protections. Two weeks later, the council voted to keep the position in civil service.

The CSC met Monday to work through the process of selecting the new chief. Another meeting has been set for Monday, Jan. 12, at 5:30 at city hall.

Commissioners tentatively set Saturday, Jan. 24, as the date for oral exams of the six candidates.