South Burlington begins national search for next police chief; community feedback emphasizes collaboration and integrity

City Manager Jesse Baker opened a community listening session Tuesday to gather input for South Burlington’s national search for a new police chief, saying, “Under our city charter, I have the exclusive authority to appoint,” and outlining a recruitment timeline that calls for initial interviews in June, an assessment center in July and a hoped-for offer in early August.

The advisory committee for the search includes representatives from the city council, the school district and police staff; City Councilor Elizabeth Fitzgerald and South Burlington School Superintendent Violet Nichols joined Baker to host the meeting. Fitzgerald described the advisory team as “very diverse” and said the city needs a candidate who will “recognize the great practices” already in place and “continue to attract and retain great talent.”

The session centered on community expectations for the next chief and on how the city will evaluate candidates. Julie Scribner of JW Leadership Consulting, who is guiding the search, described the listening sessions’ role: “What we do in these listening sessions is the information that we have…we use this feedback to help guide Jesse later in the process.” Scribner said the recruitment will be national and that the screening process includes application review, phone interviews, an assessment center, and background investigations.

Residents and community partners stressed collaboration and integrity as priorities. Gwen Donovan, a South Burlington resident, said Chief Burke had demonstrated “integrity. Integrity.” Diane Bugbee urged continuity in partnerships, saying, “Chief Burke and his predecessor, Chief Whipple, were very collaborative with community partners, particularly mental health agencies,” and asked that collaboration continue under the next chief.

Representatives of community organizations highlighted other priorities. A liaison who identified himself as Harry described partnerships that bring police into positive community roles and urged a chief who “values that kind of connection” and supports inclusion beyond crisis response.

Questions from the public addressed scope and safeguards in the search. Speakers asked whether local candidates would be considered; consultants and city staff said the process is intentionally broad so that an internal candidate who emerges as the top choice will have that selection validated by a competitive search. Baker said the city has a strong command and supervisory team in place while the recruitment proceeds, noting Acting Chief Sean Briscoe (deputy chief) and the department’s lieutenants and sergeants are leading day-to-day operations.

Participants raised policy concerns that could inform interview questions, including how the department interacts with social-service agencies and how it would respond to requests from federal immigration officials; consultants said such policy issues could be included in screening and interview prompts. Scribner described typical background checks and interviews and noted limits in national law enforcement databases at present, saying firms and investigators will “do the deep dig on everything that we can find out about them.”

Baker asked attendees to submit further input by email and via a link on the city website; the application was described as live on the city site. The city advised that the application window closes this month, with the city manager and the advisory committee using community feedback to help assess candidates.

For those interested, the recruitment brochure and the city web page include detailed information about the position and the advisory process; Baker and the HR manager, Maddie Souza, were listed as contact points during and after the session.