by TaLeiza Calloway – news@thenewsleaders.com
The pool of candidates seeking to replace St. Joseph Police Chief Pete Jansky will include familiar faces and a few new ones. The St. Joseph City Council voted 4-1 to post the job both internally and externally Feb. 7. His last day is Aug. 22.
Jansky, who announced his retirement Jan. 17, suggested looking internally first to fill his post as an effort to save time and yield candidates who already know the community. He said the City of Sartell went that route by appointing an interim chief, monitoring performance and finalizing the hire.
“I think it would save the city time to look at what you have internally,” Jansky said. “You can expect (at least) 30-plus applications.”
City council member Steve Frank agreed with the idea of hiring internally as a way to speed up filling the looming vacancy. St. Joseph Mayor Rick Schultz suggested posting the job and interviewing internally and then looking outside the St. Joseph Police department if no candidate was selected. City council member Bob Loso was in favor of looking within and outside of the city for the hire.
“I’d like to see what’s out there,” Loso said.
The next step is for city staff to finalize the job description and set a timeline for the hiring process. Jansky’s 34-year career in law enforcement started June 15, 1979. He worked as a patrol officer in St. Joseph from 1981-87 and has been the city’s police chief since 2001. He also previously served as police chief in Albany and Lakefield.
