Marysville City Council will be asked to approve Deputy Chief Tony Brooks as the next chief of police.
“I am really looking forward to this opportunity,” Brooks said this morning.
City Manager Terry Emery said Brooks was his top choice and the unanimous recommendation of the interview team.
“We went through a pretty thorough process before we got to the interviews and by that time, Tony was our number one choice and coming through the interview, he only strengthened that,” Emery said.
Brooks was rated outstanding overall and in every factor of his 2020 performance evaluation.
“He is an asset to the Marysville Division of Police and the City of Marysville,” Golden wrote in Brooks’ evaluation. “I believe he has the knowledge, skills and abilities for the next level of the command structure, and recommend he be given strong consideration for any future chief of police positions.”
Brooks was one of six internal candidates vying for the job to replace retiring chief Floyd Golden. Emery said that in reviewing the six internal applicants, “there was no reason to seek outside candidates.”
Brooks has been in law enforcement for 22 years and started as an auxiliary officer in Marysville in 2001. Brooks began as a patrol officer in 2002 and as a detective in 2007. He has served as the deputy chief of administrative support since 2013.
Brooks has a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice administration from Tiffin University and is pursuing a master’s degree in public administration at Ohio University. Additionally, he has a certificate in organizational leadership from Otterbein University and graduated from the Certified Law Enforcement Executive (CLEE) program through the Ohio Association of Chiefs of Police.
“Being in the role of deputy chief has allowed me to work with Chief Golden. He has been a mentor for me along the way,” Brooks said. “I have the desire to lead this organization in a critical time as we transition from the small agency we were when I started, into a mid-size organization.”
He added, “Marysville is one of the fastest growing communities in the state and the organization is going to have to keep up.”
Brooks said he will put a renewed emphasis on recruitment of quality applicants and development of officers.
“It doesn’t matter what kind of facilities or equipment you have, if you have quality people, nothing can replace that,” Brooks said.
He said he appreciates the service mindset of the department, “so from a day-to-day-operations standpoint, the public isn’t really going to see a lot of changes.”
Brooks said he will work to develop a strategic plan that will look into the future and shape decisions.
Officials said that in addition to the interview the hiring process consisted of an internal assessment by department management, Golden’s assessment, a review of the evaluations from the past 10 years and a leadership traits assessment performed by an outside psychologist. Each candidate was also asked to write a project paper identifying the three most significant challenges facing the police department and explaining how they would meet the challenges.
Other internal candidates included: Terry Basinger, Investigation Bureau Sergeant; Donald McGlenn, Community Services Bureau Sergeant; Douglas Ropp, Sergeant; Nathan Sachs, Sergeant; and Chad Seeberg, Sergeant.
Emery said he does not have any concerns that five applicants will be working for the new chief.
“There are not too many communities that can look internally and have six candidates as strong as we had,” Emery said. “All the candidates have worked very well together in the past. We truly believe that will continue and Tony will be a good leader through that transition.”
Brooks said he has worked with all of the other candidates, noting “they are all quality people and the city is blessed to have them.”
“We are all a team here. I would be foolish not to take advantage of their expertise and knowledge,” Brooks said.
He said he appreciates the city manager and the hiring panel “for their confidence in me.”
He also expressed appreciation to his family which “has made a lot of sacrifices to allow me to get here.”
Emery will present the selection at Monday’s council meeting. By city charter, a majority of councilpersons are needed to ratify the selection before it becomes official. If ratified, Brooks will be sworn in Sept. 20. Emery said he estimates Brooks will make “around $110,000 a year.”