Mukilteo seeks applicants for new police chief
Published 1:30 am Monday, October 24, 2016
MUKILTEO — When it comes to hiring a new police chief, the city is hoping its location overlooking Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountains will be an extra draw.
The job involves overseeing a department with 29 commissioned officers. The job description starts by focusing on the area, including a horizon bracketed by two major mountain ranges. It also refers to a 2015 Money Magazine list that included Mukilteo on a list of best places to live.
The city was the focus of intense national media attention in July, when three people, Jacob Long, Jordan Ebner, and Anna Bui, all 19, were shot to death at a house party. Will Kramer, 18, was wounded but survived.
An acquaintance, Allen Ivanov, is charged with three counts of aggravated murder and two counts of attempted first-degree murder. He pleaded not guilty in August.
Mayor Jennifer Gregerson said the police department in this city of 21,000 people has a strong focus on community policing. “I think continuing that philosophy is important,” she said.
That means the department, from the chief through the ranks, demonstrate in their every day duties the importance of being a both a guardian for and part of the community, she said.
“We have a great crime prevention officer, a school resource officer and a park ranger that help support that,” she said.
The city expects to hire a second park ranger in the spring, as warmer temperatures bring a flood of visitors to the city’s popular Lighthouse Park.
The deadline for applying for the chief’s job is Nov. 7. An open house has tentatively been set for 6:30 p.m. Nov. 30 at Mukilteo City Hall for people to hear from the top candidates and ask them questions.
People also will have an opportunity to provide written comments on the candidates to the mayor to help in the selection process, she said.
The salary range for the job is listed as between $113,115 and $137,492. The department has an annual operating budget of $4.8 million.
The city’s former police chief, Chuck Macklin, accepted a job as director of campus Security at Everett Community College in September.
He had served as a commander in the police department from 2006 to 2015. He was named chief of the department in September 2015.
Cmdr. Cheol Kang is serving as acting police chief.
Sharon Salyer: 425-339-3486; salyer@heraldnet.com.
