With the year coming to an end, the Lake City Police Department will be on the lookout for a new chief of police, as Dan Schaffer will be retiring at the end of 2024. City Administrator Jacob Matthews said that Schaffer announced the plan to retire in December of 2021 when he was hired back with the department. While not a surprise, Matthews says he will still be missed.
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Schaffer previously served the community of Lake City as the police chief nearly 40 years ago, and when he returned, he mentioned to Matthews that the department was almost the same way he left it. Matthews said Schaffer got to work, moving the department into the 21st century.
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Matthews and Schaffer initially interviewed internal and external applicants for the position. The qualified candidates have been selected and are scheduled to interview with the hiring committee, consisting of Matthews and Schaffer, along with Mayor-Elect Mike Schleisman, Council-Elect Lee Vogt, and Council member Adam Wilson. The interviews will take place on Jan. 10, and a special session will be held the following day (Jan. 11) to hopefully bring forward the one selected candidate for the position in front of the council.
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If a candidate is hired, the new police chief will start sometime in July of 2024 to receive on-the-job training underneath Schaffer and will officially take over in December.