The City will hold two public input open houses on April 18 at 2:00 pm and 7:00 pm to solicit feedback from residents and community partners concerning the next Winchester Police Chief. City residents are invited and encouraged to attend.
The open houses will be held in Rouss City Hall’s fourth floor Exhibit Hall and will be led by representatives from Colin Baenziger and Associates (CB&A), the Florida firm helping with the nationwide recruitment effort. During the two public input sessions, the following will be discussed:
- Professional characteristics desired in the next Police Chief
- Priority public safety issues
The City will use the information gathered during these public input sessions when reviewing applications and interviewing candidates.
“Hiring a Police Chief is one of the most important decisions a local government makes and we want to make sure we do this right,” stated City Manager Eden Freeman.
Recruitment Process Anticipated Timeline:
- April 18 – CB&A conducts two public meetings and up to two meetings with Winchester Police Department personnel
- April 28 – CB&A posts a recruitment profile (website, publications and emailed to over 13,000 local government professionals)
- May 26 – Closing date for submission of applications
- June 26 – Candidate information presented to City Manager
- July 5 – Deadline to select candidates for interviews
Chief Kevin Sanzenbacher announced his retirement last month. On March 31, the city appointed Major Kelly Rice as acting police chief in the interim.
In addition to being the first woman to serve as the city’s police chief, Rice was also the first woman in the department promoted to the rank of Major. A graduate of Shippensburg University in 1992 and the FBI National Academy in 2011, Rice joined the Winchester Police Department in July 1995. She was a patrol sergeant from 1999-2000; lieutenant from 2000-2005; captain and division commander of patrol, investigations and administration from 2005 to 2012; and major from 2012 to present.