Burlington advisory group to help shape search for next police chief
Fifty-five people applied for 20 seats on Burlington’s police advisory team, which city leaders want to use in the next chief search.
Fifty-five people applied for up to 20 seats on Burlington’s new Community Police Advisory Team, giving city leaders a large applicant pool to help shape the search for the next police chief. Burlington City Council has already approved the first 16 members, leaving four seats still open on the panel.
The team’s formal job is advisory. The city website says CPAT “advises and recommends policy enhancements and equitable practices to meet the needs of the community and police,” and says the group generally meets on the second Thursday of every other month at 6 p.m. Granville Simmons is listed as the staff advisor. That gives the panel a role in defining what Burlington wants from its next chief, but not the power to make the appointment.
The structure of Burlington’s police department makes that distinction matter. City administration says police leadership is composed of a chief of police and two assistant chiefs, and the chief serves as the agency’s chief executive officer. Burlington’s police chief recruitment brochure puts the scale of the department at 179 employees, 139 sworn officers and an $18.2 million operating budget, serving a city of about 55,000 people along Interstates 40 and 85. The department also says it has more than 30 years of CALEA accreditation.
Burlington has used committee-based review before. A 12-person committee previously evaluated 15 candidates for the police chief position, showing that the city has already leaned on a structured screening process when filling its top police job. The city has also staged public-facing moments around leadership changes, including a meet-and-greet for Brian Long on Nov. 18, 2021, after he was selected as chief.
The new advisory team now sits between public input and city hall’s hiring authority. With 16 members approved and four seats left to fill, Burlington is adding another layer to a chief search that will help determine the department’s direction on trust, policing style and community expectations.
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