Pittsburgh City Council approves contract with consultant in search for new police chief
Pittsburgh City Council on Monday voted to award a contract to an independent firm to lead a national search for the city’s next police chief.
Council members unanimously approved an $80,000 contract with California-based Public Sector Search & Consulting, Inc. The company will be tasked with gathering additional public input about what residents want to see in a new police chief and helping the city find the right candidates.
Former Pittsburgh police Chief Scott Schubert retired in July after leading the bureau since late 2016. Deputy Chief Thomas Stangrecki is serving as acting chief.
Council unanimously authorized the contract Monday after Council President Theresa Kail-Smith had abstained from a preliminary vote on the measure last week.
She voiced concerns that her council district — which includes the neighborhoods of Banksville, Chartiers City, Crafton Heights, Duquesne Heights, Mount Washington, East Carnegie, Elliott, Esplen, Fairywood, Marshall-Shadeland, Oakwood, Ridgemont, South Shore, Sheraden, West End, Westwood and Windgap — had been excluded from public engagement on the matter so far.
Mayor Ed Gainey’s administration held listening sessions over the past few weeks at Carrick High School, PPG Paints Arena in the Lower Hill District, Perry Traditional Academy in the North Side’s Perry North and the Community Empowerment Association building in Homewood to gather input from residents about what they’d like to see in the new chief.
Kail-Smith said she felt her district was left out, and said she would host her own public hearing in the area.
The city also launched an online survey to gather input from the community about what qualities and qualifications they believe the next police chief should possess.
Related:
• Pittsburgh City Council president says West End 'excluded' from public discussions about police chief search
• Pittsburgh Police Chief Scott Schubert to retire after nearly 30 years with bureau
• Pittsburgh City Council honors outgoing Police Chief Scott Schubert
Julia Felton is a TribLive reporter covering Pittsburgh City Hall and other news in and around Pittsburgh. A La Roche University graduate, she joined the Trib in 2020. She can be reached at jfelton@triblive.com.
Remove the ads from your TribLIVE reading experience but still support the journalists who create the content with TribLIVE Ad-Free.