SEQUIM — The city’s interim police chief is among five finalists for Sequim’s top cop, the city manager said Monday.
“In addition to an excellent internal candidate, we have four other applicants with the background and experience necessary for the Sequim police chief position,” Steve Burkett said.
“I’m looking for someone who will continue our small-town customer service approach to law enforcement, can assure the absolute integrity of the department and continually improve the quality and cost effectiveness of our services to the community.”
Candidates
The candidates are:
• Sheri Crain, acting Sequim police chief.
Crain has served the department since being initially hired as a patrol officer in February 1991.
Other positions she has held in the department include detective, field training officer, patrol sergeant, administrative sergeant and lieutenant.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from the University of Washington, and her community involvement and volunteer activities include the Sequim Trails Board and Rotary.
• William “Bill” Dickinson, former police chief of SeaTac and Burien.
Burkett said his work experience ranges from the very smallest of police departments to Washington’s largest county sheriff’s office.
He also spent seven years as chief of police in Tigard, Ore.
Dickinson lives in Tacoma and is an investigations supervisor with the state of Washington. He has a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Seattle University.
• Matthew “Matt” Kosec, a Port Townsend native and a police lieutenant in Texas.
He obtained his bachelor’s degree in criminal justice with summa cum laude honors from St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas.
His law enforcement career started with the Carrollton (Texas) Police Department in a Dallas-Fort Worth suburb, where he worked his way up from police officer to lieutenant.
He is a nationally recognized speaker and consultant on the use of community and government coalitions to address underage drinking, Burkett said.
• Todd Muilenberg, a Scottsdale, Ariz., police lieutenant.
He has diverse law enforcement experience in Scottsdale where he was hired as a patrol officer in 1990.
Other positions include field training officer, property crimes detective, gang and youth intervention detective, patrol sergeant, basic training sergeant and school resource sergeant.
As a lieutenant, he has held the position of watch commander, school resource unit commander and professional development division section commander.
He was on the deans’s list when he graduated from State University of New York in Oswego with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and a minor in forensic science.
He served as a first lieutenant in the New York Army National Guard — 1/108th Mechanized Infantry Battalion.
• Julius “Phil” Schrenck, deputy police chief in Sunnyside for almost 10 years who has family members in Sequim.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in military science with law and justice from Central Washington University, a master’s degree from City University, and graduation from the FBI National Academy at the University of Virginia.
During his 21-year career with the Sunnyside Police Department, he has served as patrol officer, police detective, patrol sergeant and deputy chief.
He also volunteers on a number of community boards and has taught criminology and criminal law at Yakima Valley Community College, and served in the Washington Army National Guard.
Friday interviews
Burkett said he hopes to hire a new police chief by mid-August.
The finalists were gleaned from about 60 applications he received after the position was advertised before July 1.
He said he wants to quickly pare down the candidates to one or two shortly after formal interviews Friday, followed by background checks.
Burkett invited the finalists to Sequim to meet community residents Thursday from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. in the City Council chambers, 190 W. Cedar St.
“That’s an opportunity for anyone to come and meet any one of the five finalists,” Burkett said.
Explaining why he was delaying release of the finalists’ names, Burkett said, “They’re all employed elsewhere and I wanted to make sure that they talked to their current employers.”
The new police chief will replace Bob Spinks, who quit a month ago after Burkett asked him to find another job — saying Spinks was no longer the right man for the post he held for nearly five years.
The City Council has endorsed Burkett’s proposal to boost the next police chief’s pay 10 percent, bringing the range to $80,000 to $106,000.
“I think we’ve got five really good finalists and I hope it will be a difficult decision for me,” Burkett said.
Finalists will go not only before Burkett for interviews on Friday.
They will face a panel of Police Department employees who will later discuss with the city manager what think are each candidate’s strengths and weaknesses.
City department directors will also talk to the candidates Friday, Burkett said, because he wants all his department heads to work well together.
‘Customer values’
Burkett said he is looking for a police chief who “shares my management and leadership values” and is focused on “customer values.”
Being data-oriented and keen on budget matters were two other characteristics the city manager of nine months seeks.
“We need someone who can communicate and is focused on what are the real resources in the community,” he said.
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Port Townsend-Jefferson County Editor Jeff Chew can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at jeff.chew@peninsuladailynews.com.
