June 20, 2009 - 08:14 p.m. EST

CARO — Caro needs to select a new police chief.

And, the Caro Village Council is hoping that happens, exactly: The community of Caro voices its opinion on what they want their Chief of Police to be.

“The selection will be driven by what the community feels their needs are and the timeline (to select a new chief) will be adjusted to that,” said Caro Village Manager Don Beavers.

The vacancy stems from the recent resignation of longtime chief Benson Page. Page, who announced his retirement last month. He will remain on the job until a new chief is hired.

The process has commenced to find his replacement.

The first step was to hire a consultant, which was done Thursday. Jerry Boles, who is the former Chief of Police for the City of Lansing and a former instructor at Michigan State University’s Criminal Justice Institute, was offered the position.

According to Beavers, Boles’ “largest contribution will facilitate a community forum scheduled for the middle of next month, assist in the interview process and help with background checking. His fee will be in the area of $1,500 or less.”

Prior to the community forum, the village council will appoint a 10-person Advisory Committee at its next meeting, Monday, July 6.

The committee will consist of an array of different members of the Caro Community. They will include two current council members, Village President Tom Striffler, a local law enforcement officer, a representative from Caro Community Schools, a business representative, a human services representative, Beavers, Boles and a community member at large.

If anyone is interested in serving on this committee, contact Beavers at (989) 673-7671.

This committee will ultimately offer its hiring recommendation to council.

But prior to that decision, which could happen in September, a number of things must be accomplished.

The first is the public forum, which will provide the community an opportunity to discuss what they would like to see in a Chief of Police. The advisory committee will host the meeting. The exact date of this meeting has not been released.

The Advisory Committee would draft the job announcement, community profile and expectation summary of the new chief.

The position will then be advertised locally and nationally with the Advisory Committee narrowing the candidates to five for the interview process.

Once the five finalists are announced, information will be released when the interviews will be held. Normally held on a Saturday, the interviews are open to the public.

“I have used this process before and it has worked,” said Beavers. “The No. one priority is to have community input in this position. The community needs to voice what they would like their Chief of Police to be.”