How close is Myrtle Beach to hiring a new police chief? 100 candidates applied
As the search for the City of Myrtle Beach’s next police chief continues, the city is sharing more information about when residents can expect a new chief to be hired.
Applications for the police chief role closed on June 26, with 100 candidates from across the country applying, according to a Facebook post by the city. The applications came from both internal and external candidates.
The City of Myrtle Beach officially began the search for a new police chief in mid-April, after longtime Chief of Police Amy Prock retired earlier that month. Assistant Chief Chris Smith was named the interim police chief while the search process is underway.
The City of Myrtle Beach is working with search firm Public Sector Search & Consulting, which has helped find and place more than 100 police chiefs across the country, throughout the search process and to review applications. The city paid the firm $38,500 for its assistance in the police chief search.
City Manager Jonathan “Fox” Simons and Assistant City Manager Josh Bruegger plan to meet with Public Sector Search & Consulting this week to review the applications. This initial review will allow the city and firm to identify semifinalists, which the city will interview virtually at the end of July, the post said.
The decision of what candidate to hire will be made by the city manager. The police chief position comes with a salary of $215,000 to $225,000.
Finalists for the police chief position will then be selected and invited for in-person interviews in Myrtle Beach during the second week of August. They will go through both internal interviews with city leaders and staff, as well as external interviews with community stakeholders, the post said.
The city is not yet certain how the external interviews will be structured and what stakeholders will be included, Meredith Denari, the city’s director of communications and creative services, wrote in a statement to The Sun News.
The City of Myrtle Beach hopes to have a new police chief by Labor Day, Denari wrote.
What community said
The search firm received more than 600 responses from residents, police officers and other stakeholders to a survey asking for input into the police chief search.
The majority of the feedback from respondents said they want a visible, proactive and transparent leader as the top law enforcement official in the city.
The Sun News submitted Freedom of Information Act requests for the feedback and, although Myrtle Beach did not release the actual responses, the city did share Public Sector Search & Consulting’s executive summaries of the employee and community surveys.