City of Decorah will hire a consultant to help with hiring a new Police Chief

It's official.  The Decorah City Council has approved signing a contract with consultant Jeff Cayler to help with the process of hiring a new Police Chief.  Current Police Chief Bill Nixon will retire July 24th.

Cayler has been hired for a not-to-exceed cost of $13,500 to manage steps in the search process.  That will begin with asking key individuals for their opinions on the state of the Decorah Police Department and what kind of skills will be needed by the next Police Chief.

Decorah City Council member Steve Luse stressed that the hiring of an outside consultant in no way reflected on the qualifications of existing members of the police department.  He encouraged them to apply for the position, saying that hiring a consultant was part of the "due process" required of the city council.