Jim Maxson, the newly selected Prescott Valley Police Chief.

Prescott Valley Mayor Harvey Skoog made the announcement today at a press conference, noting that all of the final six candidates were, "...very highly qualified, having like, 25-30 years of experience in very-high-up police work, including Chief, Captain, Leuitenant, very big police departments, Los Angeles, Boise, Idaho, can't remember which all departments they were from, but they were very highly qualified."

Chief Schatz, who announced his retirement on December 13, 2007, wrote in his resignation letter, ""I love Prescott Valley but timing is everything! Right now it's just right for me and my wife to retire and enjoy our grandchildren. It's been a wonderful career. The last seven years have been the greatest of my 40 years in law enforcement and we've made some really great strides
here with the Prescott Valley Police Department (PVPD). Many things have been set in motion and I'm satisfied that this department is going in the right direction." 

The final candidates, none of whom came from Arizona, were:

David Felice, Colorado Springs, CO.
Mark Layhew, Simi Valley, CA.
James Maxson, Boise, ID.
William Musser, Meridian, ID.
Geoff Spalding, Fullerton, CA.
Marlin Warkentin, Los Angeles, CA.

Skoog explained, "Our final selection was up to [Town Manager] Larry [Tarkowski], after the discussion with the committee - there were seven people on the committee - after the final discussion, Larry has selected a gentleman by the name of Jim Maxson. He's a Police Captain for the City of Boise. And, believe me, it's safe to say, he will do a good job, a great job. He's a good gentleman, he's very knowledgable, and very leadership-oriented."

Skoog talked about the job Maxson would be inheriting, "He's taking over a police department; and our Prescott Valley Police Department, I think, is ranked as one of the top departments in the state, I think the proof of that would be in the fact that we have improved safety in our streets, reduced crimes, a generally very safe community, considered on a national scale, we are a very safe community. And that's what Chief Schotz has brought us up to. It started out years before that, with Chief Ed Sieder, who took over a fairly undeveloped department, with half a dozen officers, worn out cars, pretty inept radio systems. People can get radio communications in their cars anywhere in town, right there on the spot, and not only here in town, but we connect with Prescott Police and the Fire Department, so we've got a full communication system, and our professional services are top-rated." 

Chief Schatz reflected on the process of choosing a new Police Chief, "I thought it was an excellent process to go through, having gone through a similar process myself. At the time I thought the town did a great job, the applicants that applied were extremely experienced and knowledgable, law enforcement executives, obviously, there is an emotional investment on my part in leaving. The town's a great place to live and a great place to work, and my wife and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Larry gave me the opportunity to participate in this process, and I feel really good about who Larry has selected to take over the reins of the department.

During Friday's press conference, Mayor Skoog expresses his appreciation for the contributions that Chief Schatz has made to the Prescott Valley Police Department in the last seven years.

Skoog nodded his head, and added, "When the Chief announced his retirement, these officers showed their emotion, that they really appreciate Chief Schotz. Chief we appreciate that you've done an outstanding job with our department, and we appreciate the fact that our department thinks so highly of you. That goes as a credit to your personal leadership. Management you can computerize, leadership you cannot, and they respect your leadership, we respect it."

Tarkowski talked about narrowing the list of candidates down, and how Maxson became the final choice, "The process is very good when you start off with eighty and end up with one. There's a winnowing component to that, and I want to thank everyone that took part in that process. When it came down to the top six, I believe that the interview committee ... asked a whole battery of questions; the same questions were asked of each of the top six, that's in addition to the answers to three questions that were submitted by those six by a previous process. I believe that it became abundantly clear, when the top two candidates emerged from that top pool of six... it then became the process of finding hte right fit. Those feelings were confirmed when we went through the contract process. When we negotiated the compensation package, the reactions we got from Jim Maxson were very appropriate. He's very excited to come to Prescott Valley, in fact I believe that during the interview process, the comment was made that in the event that they weren't chosen, his wife still wanted to move to Prescott Valley, they found it such a delightful community and a very engaging community. So I think we're fortunate, I think it will be very good for the department."

Maxson will be coming from the Boise, ID Police Department, where he is currently a Captain. According to the bio distributed by Briana Lonas, Prescott Valley Communications Director, "During the past 13 years, Maxson has had the opportunity to supervise every sworn division of the police department including Internal Affairs, Investigations, Narcotics, Patrol, Community Outreach, all u niformed assignemnts and School Resource Officers." You can download the rest of Maxson's biography here. 

Maxson will start on April 7, which will allow for a couple of days overlap before Chief Schatz leaves.

TrackBack URI for this entry

Comments (0)

Subscribe to this comment's feed