February 15th, 2011
Earp to temporarily run Kyle police operations

Kyle Assistant City Manager James Earp will temporarily run the day-to-day operations of the Kyle Police Department. City of Kyle photo.

STAFF REPORT

KYLE — With Kyle Police Department (KPD) Chief Michael Blake moving on to take the same position in Bastrop later this month, Kyle City Manager Lanny Lambert is moving top city staff around while the city looks for a new KPD leader.

Lambert said Assistant City Manager James Earp will focus on the day-to-day operation of the police department, while Communications Director Jerry Henrdix will act as assistant city manager until Earp can return to City Hall. Earp served as the city’s interim City Manager for most of 2010 while the city conducted a search to replace the departed Tom Mattis.

“I want to be sure to hire the very best person to be our next police chief, and I want the candidate pool to include anyone on the current force who might be eligible,” Lambert said. “To that end, I’ve decided to forgo naming an interim chief and asked Mr. Earp to step in and oversee the administrative needs of the department. This allows any of our current officers to be eligible while not giving a particular officer an added advantage by being named as acting chief.”

Lambert also has put together a nine-person committee to assist with the selection of a new chief. The committee will vet the applications, conduct interviews and rank the finalists.

Police Chiefs Art Acevedo from Austin and Howard Williams from San Marcos have agreed to serve on the committee, which also will include two Kyle City Councilmembers, City of Kyle department directors, a representative from the KPD command staff, a representative from the Kyle police union, and city’s human resources director, who will be non-voting.

The city will advertise the position through February and beginning interviews during the first two weeks in March. A final decision is expected by March 31.

“We had to reallocate some of our resources during this time of transition,” Lambert said. “But we’ve got very good people taking on added responsibilities so we can fill in some gaps until we bring on our next police chief.”

Blake’s last day with the KPD will be Feb. 25. However, Lambert said, the temporary assignments will be effective immediately to allow for adequate transition time.