Paul Schnell, a former police chief in Hastings and Maplewood, is among five finalists for the top cop job in Inver Grove Heights.
The finalists were chosen Wednesday by the city council and now move on to interviews and a community meet-and-greet Nov. 8. The council could decide whom to hire Nov. 9.
The city has been without a permanent chief since April 2016, when Larry Stanger was put on paid leave amid an investigation into allegations that he tipped off the owner of a Prescott, Wis., auto-detailing business that the business would be searched for stolen construction vehicles.
Scott County Attorney Ron Hocevar declined to charge Stanger with public corruption or violating data privacy laws, saying at the time that his office was not able to “connect the dots between what was alleged and the police chief to prove in court beyond a reasonable doubt.”
But Stanger, who had been with Inver Grove Heights police since 1989 and chief since January 2012, resigned in December 2016 after reaching a separation agreement with the city.
Lt. Sean Folmar has served as the interim police chief during Stanger’s absence.
Folmar, who’s been with the police department since 1995, is one of two internal candidates for the permanent job; Lt. Joshua Otis is the other. Otis has been with the department since 2001, a lieutenant since 2012.
Schnell, after a decade with St. Paul police, was police chief in Hastings from June 2010 to July 2013, when he went to Maplewood. Schnell left the job this past June, saying at the time that he intended to leave law enforcement.
The two other finalists also have résumés with more than two decades of east metro experience: Richard Clark, who has been with the Ramsey County sheriff’s office since 1995 and a commander since 2002; and Lakeville Deputy Police Chief John Kornmann, whose first police job was in Ellsworth, Wis., in 1990. He joined Lakeville police in 1996.
The search to replace Stanger began in June, when the council hired Springsted Waters, a St. Paul-based executive recruitment firm for the public sector. The city received 33 applications, and nine semifinalists were forwarded to the council for consideration this month based on the qualifications outlined in the job posting.
In Inver Grove Heights, which has just over 35,000 residents, the new police chief will oversee a department with 46 members and a budget currently at $7.4 million. The job’s salary starts out at $105,500 a year and tops out at $131,800.