Utica Police Chief Search on Hold

The search for a new Utica Police Chief is on hold until the city can balance its budget.

Utica Mayor Jacqueline Noonan said that by law, the budget is due on June 30, so the hiring process is on hold for another month to six weeks.

“This is not unusual,” Noonan said.  “It’s just that the process to appoint a new police chief comes during a very critical time in our budget. As everyone knows local government has been impacted very negatively by the drop in property values and the amount of tax collections.”

The former Utica Police Chief, Michael Reaves, left the department in March to become the chief of police in Port Huron.

Since his departure, the police department has been accepting applications.

Noonan said more than 50 applications for the job have been received. Out of those 50, the pool has been narrowed down to 18 applicants.

The applicants were notified that the hiring process has been put on hold for now, according to Noonan.

“Once we finish the budget, the remaining 18 will be notified of the next step,” she said.

“We’re not in a tremendous rush,” Noonan added. “We currently have three sergeants who are running our department and we are very confident of their ability.”

In the past, the chief’s salary was about $83,000, but last year, it had been reduced by five percent to $79,000.

“We’re just trying to figure out how to best use our resources to serve and protect the citizens of Utica,” said Noonan.