Selecting Morgantown’s next police chief is an important decision that city administration is not taking lightly.
That’s according to Communications Director Andrew Stacy who said City Manager Kim Haws is carefully reviewing candidates and working with staff to schedule interviews.
The city received 45 applications to the job posting, which was posted on the city’s website, job search websites and professional law enforcement organization websites, according to Stacy.
However, that’s all the information the city is releasing until the decision has been made. Stacy said there are no plans to include the public in the hiring process and Haws does not plan to comment on the hiring process until the position is filled.
“We will make an announcement once a candidate is selected and they have accepted the position,” Stacy said.
Ed Preston became police chief in 2011 and resigned at the end of June 2020. At the time, he said he hoped the money saved by his resignation would keep the department from layoffs or having to cut the salaries of officers due to the impacts of COVID-19 on city finances.
He recommended then-deputy chief Eric Powell be appointed the next chief. Powell has served as interim chief for seven months.
A decision was made to not replace Preston immediately. Then-City Manager Paul Brake had accepted a job offer in Royal Oak, Mich., in March. He recommended that an important position such as chief of police, who must work closely with a city’s administration, should be hired once that turnover was complete.
