BARRIE - Two weeks after Barrie police chief Wayne Frechette threatened to resign, the Barrie Police Services Board has launched the search for his replacement.

The ad that ran in the Globe and Mail’s Careers section on Saturday – two days after The Advance revealed details of Frechette threatening to quit – came as quite a shock to Doug Jure and Coun. Jerry Moore. The pair says the board did not discuss the ad, or how the search for a new chief would be undertaken.

Full of grammatical and typographical errors, the ad for police chief does not reflect the importance or stature of the position in one of Canada’s fast-growing communities.

Instead of accepting e-mailed resumes, the ad directs applicants to apply by mail to City Hall rather than to the police’s human resources department.

The ad’s wording also suggests it wasn’t proofread, as it contains repetitive phrases and poor punctuation. It went so far as say the successful “candidates’ exceptional communication skills with (sic) provide leadership for day to day operations…”

But it’s the ad’s origin that has Jure and Moore concerned.

“(Advertising for a chief) without the board knowing, then directing resumes to City Hall, raises questions as to why process isn’t being followed,” said Jure.

“Once we receive funding (from the city), we are a separate organization that delivers police services. The chief is answerable to the board. The board is accountable to the community.”

The Barrie Police Service has its own human resources department and, added Jure, it’s important to keep policing separate from City Hall. The Police Services Act, he explained, requires police forces to be independent of political interference.

When Frechette applied for the job in 2000, he told The Advance he sent his resume to the secretary of the Barrie Police Services Board. As to timing of this ad, he said “it doesn’t matter to me. It seems to make sense to advertise the job now, rather than after I’m gone.”

Police services board chairperson Rick Jones said the board is following process. It has to begin the search sooner rather than later. Frechette is to retire Sept. 1.

“There’s nothing nefarious,” Jones said Saturday. “It’s been authorized. We’ll interview in April and select in May or June.”

Never has there been discussion on how the board should go about hiring the next chief, said Coun. Moore. Last year, the board chose a new deputy chief – and in doing so, it set parameters and laid out a search strategy. No such work has begun for the chief’s position, he said.

“I don’t recall authorizing an ad,” he said, adding the board hasn’t discussed whether to seek assistance from a headhunting firm or whether to contain its search to Ontario.

Jure added in such a strategic job search, the board should discussed the wording, as well as the scope of the search.

“There’s never been any discussion with respect to the range of the competition – internal, restricted to Ontario, national or international. Putting it in the Globe and Mail makes it national, perhaps international.”

Under the Police Services Act, a police board hires the chief, who then operates the department. The act’s code of conduct clearly specifies personnel issues – such as hiring and firing – are the exclusive purview of the chief.

The issue that prompted the chief to threaten to quit early related to a personnel matter – the responsibility of the chief, according to the Police Services Act.