Newly appointed city manager, Amy Chan, said that by January, the city could have a permanent director of public safety to fill the space that has been held by three interim chiefs in the past year—since former Chief Ernie Bakin injured himself on the job.

"I'm hoping we can get someone who is good for the department as well as the city, because we need that." Chan said. She said that while the interim chiefs have all been good employees, having a constant state of transition in the department for a year has negatively impacted its health, so getting a solid, permanent leader is important.

Pat Dwyer—a former police officer in San Jose and Palo Alto who was also the Interim Chief in Hayward—currently heads up the department. According to a report at the Nov. 9 council meeting, he is only expected to remain in the position until January when the city expects to have a permanent replacement.

The city council gave Dwyer a contract for $6,000 a week on Nov. 9. In a 40-hour week, that works out to $150 an hour, just under the $155.89 an hour set aside for that position in the city's budget.

Communications Officer John Pilger said Dwyer's salary is so high because he is not being paid benefits—as a permanent chief would. The full package for a permanent chief works out to $155.89 an hour, so to make up for Dwyer not getting benefits, the city is paying him the equivalent amount as his salary.

The city will not release the actual pay past directors have made, but the recruitment brochure put the salary at $156, 520 a year maximum, plus benefits.

Chan said the recruitment phase of the city's search ended on Nov. 5. Of the 39 applicants, six or seven are moving on to be interviewed by a series of panels on Dec. 6.

Pilger said only eight of the applicants are from California, and the rest are from all over the country. Because Sunnyvale runs their fire and police departments together as the Department of Public Safety, the final pick will have to be able to lead both branches effectively.

Chan said she hopes to have those panels made up of people from all echelons of the city, but is still deciding who will sit on what panels.

Each group will give Chan its choice of the three most qualified candidates after interviewing them.

Chan said she does not want the panels to give her their first, second and third choices, she just wants to know which three candidates they think are best for the position. She also wants them to list what their concerns are about with each candidate.

Chan will conduct the final round of interviews—using the panels' concerns as part of the focus of her questions—before making her decision.

After she selects the final three candidates, Chan said she will run extensive background checks on each applicant.

"We need leaders here in Sunnyvale who really care about what is best for the community and who can also work with internal staff to make the best of the department," Chan said. "We have a strong track record for safety to maintain, but you don't just get that overnight, it takes many years to reach that status."