SEQUIM — Police Chief Bob Spinks was eliminated late Tuesday afternoon as a finalist for the position of police chief of Lebanon, Ore.
The news — the mayor and none of the other Sequim City Council members had been informed that Spinks was looking for another job — came amid clear indications of tension between Spinks and Sequim City Manager Steve Burkett.
Burkett said he hoped Spinks would be successful in finding a new job — and hinted that changes may be in store for the police department Spinks has headed for five years.
Lebanon Assistant City Manager Ginger Allen said late Tuesday afternoon that Spinks, who had made the cut to six candidates out of a field of 20 applicants in April, was informed at about 4 p.m. Tuesday in a telephone call that he was not among the two finalists.
Spinks did not return repeated calls for comment after the Peninsula Daily News’ interviewed Allen and after she had told him of Lebanon’s decision.
But in an interview earlier Tuesday, Spinks, 51, said he had stepped up his efforts to find another police chief job since January and is “aggressively looking at other opportunities.”
Spinks would not identify any other job applications he has submitted.
“I will continue to look at other opportunities and in the meantime will continue to discharge my duties as chief,” Spinks said.
Spinks said he earns about $86,000 a year as Sequim’s police chief.
The Lebanon position paid between about $72,000 and $90,000 yearly, Allen said.
Retiring Lebanon Police Chief Mike Healy earns $90,000, Allen said.
Sequim has a population of about 6,000.
Lebanon’s is 16,000.
“We were impressed with his background, but we had six very strong candidates,” Allen said.
Interviewed late Tuesday afternoon, Burkett said he knew Spinks had applied for the Lebanon job — but not that Spinks had been turned down.
In the future
“My assumption is that here in the near future, he will probably accept a job as a chief elsewhere,” Burkett said.
As city manager, Burkett is in charge of all the city departments, including police.
The Sequim City Council, to whom Burkett, 64, reports, voted unanimously Oct. 2 to hire him as Sequim’s city manager.
Burkett was the former manager of several larger municipalities, from the Seattle suburb of Shoreline to Tallahassee, Fla.
Spinks had served as interim city manager for about six months after a majority of council members voted to fire Bill Elliott in 2008.
Spinks stepped down from that temporary job when he needed surgery to remove a non-cancerous tumor on his auditory nerve.
Spinks began as Sequim police chief in February 2005 after working for law enforcement agencies in Oregon, Washington and California for more than 20 years.
Burkett described Spinks as “pretty outgoing and bombastic and pretty easy to get to know.”
Cuts could be in store for the police department, added Burkett.
“I’m learning the council’s priorities, then I have to make some decisions about restructuring the organization,” Burkett said.
“The council has established emphasis on planning, and we do not have enough resources in planning.”
That could mean cuts in the police department, which have already begun, Burkett said, with the decision to leave a vacant police officer position unfilled.
Mayor was unaware
The Sequim City Council were in the dark about the city’s top law enforcement officer applying for the Lebanon position.
“This is the first I heard of it, I swear to God,” Mayor Ken Hays said in an interview.
“I had no idea he was looking, to be honest, none whatsoever,” he said.
But, Hays added, “the fact that he was looking for a job is not a total surprise.”
But Hays said he was unfazed that Burkett did not inform him or the rest of the City Council.
Burkett said it was not necessary to inform the council when a department head has applied for a new job, but that he and Spinks may soon issue a joint statement about Spinks’ future.
Burkett would not be specific.
“The chief and I have been talking about him applying for a couple of positions,” he said.
“I hope he is successful.
“At some point, we will probably in the near future be making some sort of joint statement about this.”
Speculation arose in October — shortly before Burkett started work — that Spinks might depart Sequim after he told Peninsula Daily News that he “did review” a job opening as police chief in the Central Washington community of Quincy but that the position did not meet his career goals.
In that same interview, he repeated an earlier assertion that he wanted to retire in Sequim.
‘No conflicts’
Asked Tuesday about the conflict between “aggressively” applying for new jobs and wanting to stay put, he deferred to Burkett.
“That’s a question you will have to ask the city manager,” he said, adding there had not been a falling out between the police chief and his boss.
“I haven’t had any conflict with the city manager or his direction,” Spinks added.
“I don’t believe I have anything but his confidence.”
Burkett said he has a different style and expectations in terms of how he wants the police department to serve the community — but that there are no “big differences” between he and Spinks professionally.
As an example, Burkett said he plans to replace “big, black SUVs,” driven by patrol sergeants, with identifiable patrol cars.
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Senior Staff Writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-417-3536 or at paul.gottlieb@peninsuladailynews.com.
