Consultant hired in search for police chief
By Peter Boylan and Rod Ohira
Advertiser Staff Writers
The Honolulu Police Commission selected a consultant yesterday to oversee the selection of a successor for retiring Chief Lee Donohue.
The commission will pay $29,900 to hire Terry Eisenberg of Personnel Performance Inc., based in Los Gatos, Calif. Eisenberg's firm will charge an additional $2,500 to $3,000 for each psychological evaluation administered to finalists.
Ron Taketa, chairman of the seven member police commission, said psychological evaluations are the most grueling part of the selection process. He said the evaluations were integral parts of the selections of former Chief Mike Nakamura and Donohue.
He said the commission hopes to have a new chief by the end of August.
The consultant was selected at a public meeting at the Honolulu Police Department's Alapa'i Street headquarters. Personnel Performance Inc. has been involved in the selection of Honolulu police chiefs as a paid consultant since 1983.
The commission's goal is to have Donohue's successor on the job by the first week of September, Taketa said.
The total cost of the selection process — which includes the hiring of the consultant, advertising the position, and renting space for interviews — is expected to be about $44,217. In 1998, the commission spent $36,234 in selecting Chief Donohue.
Taketa said the Commission budgeted about $50,000 to cover the entire process.
Donohue's selection process took only 4 1/2 months, said Taketa. The current guidelines to process applicants were established by the commission in 1990.
May 28 is the deadline to apply for the chief's position. Donohue's retirement takes effect July 1.
The commission plans to name an acting chief next month and that job will be offered to senior Deputy Chief Glen Kajiyama, Taketa said. If Kajiyama declines, the position will be offered to Deputy Chief Paul Putzulu, HPD's third-highest administrator.
Nineteen people applied for the job in 1998, all in-state. Taketa would not say how many applications have been received this year.
This year's applicants will likely include Assistant Chiefs John Kerr and Robert Prasser, who were among the four finalists in 1998, plus Kajiyama, Putzulu, and Assistant Chief Boisse Correa.
To qualify, an applicant must have at least five years of law-enforcement experience, including three years in a management position — which translates into a rank of captain or above — and a degree from a four-year college or its equivalent.
Reach Peter Boylan at 535-8110 or pboylan@honoluluadvertiser.com and Rod Ohira at 535-8181 or rohira@honoluluadvertiser.com.
