Carrie Baraldo, interim co-director of the City of Eugene Employee Resource Center, told the Citizen Review Board that the city’s police-auditor recruitment opened in October and closed Jan. 1, and that council has directed an outreach-heavy selection process that includes an initial staff screening, a council review of written applications, screening interviews this week and in-person panels in March for finalists.

Baraldo said the city contracted Bob Murray & Associates to expand outreach to oversight professionals and other networks. She described a three-part in-person interview for finalists: a community “Q&A” panel, a structured internal-stakeholder interview and a council panel. Community panel members will submit written feedback after each candidate interview; that feedback will be provided to council, which has final hiring authority. Baraldo said the city’s recruiter expects the comprehensive background and reference stage to take about three to four weeks, so a finalist chosen in March would likely finish background checks in April.

The recruitment process matters because the police auditor is the primary civilian oversight position the council uses to review policing complaints and audits. Board members asked how the city will form a representative community panel, how to support candidates relocating to Eugene and whether the process will surface candidates of color and other underrepresented backgrounds. Baraldo said staff will reach out to neighborhood and community groups, ask each group to nominate one or two panelists, and that she will try to solidify dates quickly so community members can plan to participate. She also said she had asked the recruiting firm to discuss local demographics and community context with candidates during outreach.

Board members pressed for clarity on two procedural points: whether the community panel will be the same set of people for each finalist (Baraldo said yes, all finalists invited to the in-person process would meet the same panels) and how the community feedback will be used (Baraldo said council will receive compiled written feedback from community and stakeholder panels to inform its decision). Several members urged the city to provide relocation support and tailored outreach so candidates from outside the area better understand what living and working in Eugene will be like.

Baraldo said the recruitment brochure and outreach targeted law-enforcement-oversight networks, human-resources and diversity job sites, and that she attended the National Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement conference to engage oversight professionals. She said staff ran a minimum-qualifications screen and council then reviewed application packages and scored candidate written responses before deciding which applicants would move to screening interviews this week.

Baraldo also told the board the city will conduct a police-style background check (a comprehensive, investigator-prepared report) on the candidate council chooses to appoint; that step typically takes three to four weeks and may extend calendar timing into April. Board members noted the city had extended an interim monitor contract to cover the oversight gap while the recruitment concludes.

Baraldo invited board members to recommend questions for the community panel and said staff will contact the Citizen Review Board and other community groups to solicit panelists once dates are set. She repeatedly emphasized that council is the hiring authority and that the community panel’s role is advisory: written feedback will be compiled and provided to council to inform the final decision.

Board members thanked Baraldo and asked staff to keep the board informed about dates and opportunities to participate as community panelists.