The city of Burlington has suspended its search for a police chief once again, citing an “insufficient” pool of available applicants for the job. Mayor Miro Weinberger announced the change Friday afternoon, the latest move in an off-and-on process that has included several interim chiefs over the course of nearly two years. The mayor is now recommending changes to the city council in an effort to entice more applicants. Between the most recent position re-listing on Oct. 12 and this week, the city said 21 people applied. Of those, it said none were women and just two candidates met minimum job requirements to advance beyond preliminary screening. Acting Chief Jon Murad has confirmed he was among those applicants. He will continue to serve in his current position while the search is suspended. Weinberger is now recommending a series of changes for the city council, saying he will not restart search efforts until they are met. Among them are requests to use a search firm with experience recruiting law enforcement leadership and raising the salary range to be more competitive with other departments. According to the city, Burlington has an advertised salary range of $119,000 to $132,000 for its police chief. A search consultant with the city has proposed increasing the salary ceiling to $160,000 for the job. That top amount would offer roughly the same pay as cities like Flagstaff, Arizona and New Haven, Connecticut, the consultant wrote in an internal message to a director with a nonprofit police executives group. Members of a search committee previously expressed support for raising the salary in September, but that was not approved by the city council. Councilors did support raising the city’s police force cap by 13 officers last month; it followed a year of pushback after the group chose to lower it by attrition from 105 to 74 officers in 2020. Weinberger is also asking that the city council begin “providing the resources and support a new police chief will need to succeed.” He is promising to provide details on that request prior to a Nov. 15 council meeting. How the search started The continuing search for a chief has followed a disorderly change in the department’s top office that garnered a national spotlight for several weeks in late 2019. Burlington’s most recent police chief, Brandon del Pozo, resigned in December of that year after it was revealed he created an anonymous Twitter account to respond to a local activist online. He was appointed as chief by Weinberger just over four years earlier. Jan Wright was named as his appointment until hours later it was discovered that she, too, had used a fake social media account to criticize the activist. Using the Facebook screen name “Lori Spicer” on Facebook, Wright discussed department policies and practices with other users.Wright was removed from her position less than 24 hours after being appointed. The city would name former Colchester police Chief Jennifer Morrison to lead the department in an interim role in early January. She said it would be a temporary position lasting between four to six months while the city completed a search to fill the job. Morrison would ultimately resign in September 2020 in the middle of a planned absence from her role prompted by health problems with her husband. In her resignation letter, she cited those health concerns along with “mismanagement” within the city council as driving forces in her departure. “I believe that too many members of the current city council are more interested in social activism than good governance,” she wrote. Murad has served as interim chief since her departure. The city observed another pause during this period, halting the search between spring of 2020 and late May 2021 amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The city of Burlington has suspended its search for a police chief once again, citing an “insufficient” pool of available applicants for the job.
Mayor Miro Weinberger announced the change Friday afternoon, the latest move in an off-and-on process that has included several interim chiefs over the course of nearly two years. The mayor is now recommending changes to the city council in an effort to entice more applicants.
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Between the most recent position re-listing on Oct. 12 and this week, the city said 21 people applied. Of those, it said none were women and just two candidates met minimum job requirements to advance beyond preliminary screening.
Acting Chief Jon Murad has confirmed he was among those applicants. He will continue to serve in his current position while the search is suspended.
Weinberger is now recommending a series of changes for the city council, saying he will not restart search efforts until they are met. Among them are requests to use a search firm with experience recruiting law enforcement leadership and raising the salary range to be more competitive with other departments.
According to the city, Burlington has an advertised salary range of $119,000 to $132,000 for its police chief. A search consultant with the city has proposed increasing the salary ceiling to $160,000 for the job.
That top amount would offer roughly the same pay as cities like Flagstaff, Arizona and New Haven, Connecticut, the consultant wrote in an internal message to a director with a nonprofit police executives group.
Members of a search committee previously expressed support for raising the salary in September, but that was not approved by the city council. Councilors did support raising the city’s police force cap by 13 officers last month; it followed a year of pushback after the group chose to lower it by attrition from 105 to 74 officers in 2020.
Weinberger is also asking that the city council begin “providing the resources and support a new police chief will need to succeed.” He is promising to provide details on that request prior to a Nov. 15 council meeting.
How the search started
The continuing search for a chief has followed a disorderly change in the department’s top office that garnered a national spotlight for several weeks in late 2019.
Burlington’s most recent police chief, Brandon del Pozo, resigned in December of that year after it was revealed he created an anonymous Twitter account to respond to a local activist online. He was appointed as chief by Weinberger just over four years earlier.
Jan Wright was named as his appointment until hours later it was discovered that she, too, had used a fake social media account to criticize the activist. Using the Facebook screen name “Lori Spicer” on Facebook, Wright discussed department policies and practices with other users.
Wright was removed from her position less than 24 hours after being appointed.
The city would name former Colchester police Chief Jennifer Morrison to lead the department in an interim role in early January. She said it would be a temporary position lasting between four to six months while the city completed a search to fill the job.
Morrison would ultimately resign in September 2020 in the middle of a planned absence from her role prompted by health problems with her husband. In her resignation letter, she cited those health concerns along with “mismanagement” within the city council as driving forces in her departure.
“I believe that too many members of the current city council are more interested in social activism than good governance,” she wrote.
Murad has served as interim chief since her departure. The city observed another pause during this period, halting the search between spring of 2020 and late May 2021 amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
