HomeMy WebLinkAbout2026-05-26 - Request for Proposals - Recruitment Services: Chief of PoliceCITY OF TUKWILA
REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS FOR RECRUITMENT SERVICES
CHIEF OF POLICE
The City of Tukwila is soliciting proposals from qualified and experienced professional search
firms to provide executive recruitment services to hire the City's next Police Chief. The intent of
this request for proposals (RFP) is to partner with a recruiting firm to provide high quality
services and deliver highly qualified candidates for the City to consider at a competitive cost.
The ideal firm will have experience and expertise in, including but not limited to, executive
searches in the public sector, with a focus on the disciplines of the police profession and public
safety leadership.
The City of Tukwila complies with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Americans with
Disabilities Act (ADA). Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (DBEs) will be afforded full
opportunity to submit qualifications. There will be no discrimination on the grounds of race,
color, national origin, sex, or sexual orientation in consideration for an award. Materials can be
made available in alternate formats by request.
The City reserves the right to reject any and all responses and to waive technicalities or
irregularities, and after careful consideration of all submissions and factors involved make the
award best to serve the interests of the City of Tukwila. The City also reserves the right to
amend terms of this RFP to circulate various addenda, or to withdraw the RFP at any time,
regardless of how much time and effort firms may have spent on their responses.
Proposals must be received electronically by email at TukwilaPoliceChief@Tukwilawa.gov on or
before 4:30 p.m. on May 26, 2026. No faxed or U.S. mailed submittals will be accepted.
City of Tukwila Police Chief Recruitment
Request for Proposals - Executive Recruitment Services
I. GENERAL INFORMATION
The Recruitment. The City of Tukwila is beginning the search process for its next Police Chief
with the retirement of Eric Dreyer, who served in the Tukwila Police Department for 32 years,
including the last five years as Chief of Police. Deputy Chief Eric Lund will serve as the Interim
Police Chief effective May 1, 2026. Tukwila anticipates appointing the next Police Chief in
September 2026. The Police Chief is appointed by the Mayor, confirmed by the City Council and
serves as a department director. The City desires a recruitment process that reflects community
priorities; identifies the next leader capable of guiding the department through current and
emerging public safety challenges; attracts highly qualified candidates from across the nation;
and ensures fair and transparent evaluation.
About the City. Nestled in the heart of the Puget Sound region, the City of Tukwila is a vibrant,
diverse community that combines the best of urban amenities with small-town connectedness.
Tukwila has more than 22,600 residents that call the City home, and a daytime population
exceeding 150,000, and is located at the crossroads of two major interstate highways and
minutes from Seattle -Tacoma International Airport. Since its founding in 1908, the City of
Tukwila continues as a uniquely diverse and dynamic community. Long known as a receiving
City for immigrants and refugees, 40% of Tukwila's residents were born outside of the United
States. Tukwila is the 18th largest city in King County and an employment center for over
40,000 jobs. Tukwila's rich tapestry of cultures creates a unique and welcoming environment
where global perspectives meet local community values. Westfield Southcenter, the Pacific
Northwest's largest mall, anchors a robust retail sector that makes Tukwila a shopping and
dining destination.
About the Police Department. The Tukwila Police Department (TPD) employs 77
commissioned and 24 non-commissioned staff dedicated to serving the Tukwila community
through its five divisions (Patrol, Special Operations, Support Operations, Investigations,
Professional Standards, Administration). During 2025-26, the Department achieved and has
maintained full staffing to provide services to the community. TPD's 2026 annual budget of
$29.7M is focused on outcomes such as increasing community outreach events; improving
quality of life for the community; decreasing minor traffic violations; reducing officer stress -
related incidents; focusing on increased training for employees; and leadership development.
The 2024-29 Strategic Plan states the Department strives to be connected to the life of our
diverse community, effective in preventative and responsive law enforcement, and collaborative
with other agencies to improve the safety and quality of life for all.
In 2025, TPD responded to 32,894 calls for service; calls are driven by homelessness, drug
addiction, and behavioral health, which demand cross -system solutions as they impact the
quality of life for everyone in Tukwila. Immigration enforcement -related fear, regardless of what
local police do or do not do, affects trust, reporting, and community cohesion. Since 2024, traffic
citations have nearly doubled to 2,993, with TPD's emphasis on neighborhood safety and the
implementation of a speed camera in a park zone. Vehicle accidents remained relatively stable
from the prior year. Likewise, Tukwila's crime rates are stable or declining, with lower person -
crime incidence of robbery and aggravated assault over prior years, and property crimes down
by nearly a third since 2024. The Department has made progress in key areas of service
delivery, training, and community engagement while facing complex, high -profile challenges
during a time of heightened community concern. The Department's values are Caring,
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City of Tukwila Police Chief Recruitment
Request for Proposals - Executive Recruitment Services
Professional, and Responsive service, and recently aligned operations with the priorities
established in the five-year strategic plan. Priorities include crime reduction, quality -of -life
concerns, and proactive problem -solving through targeted enforcement, coordination with
partners, and community -driven engagement. The Tukwila Police Department's community
relationships are strong and focused on continued trust -building. A significant challenge has
been public anxiety and tension connected to federal immigration policy and enforcement
activity in the region, including concerns raised by residents in Tukwila. The Police Chief has
played a key role in reaffirming the city's role and commitment to protecting community
members and providing visible leadership in addressing community fear and de-escalation by
controlling misinformation and offering public order and safety during protests. With a federal
DHS office in Tukwila, coordination and maintaining public safety has been a recent focus. The
Department has also invested in engagement and prevention, including youth -focused efforts
and relationship -building with community stakeholders; improving the approach to calls involving
individuals experiencing mental health crises through co -response and partnerships that
connect people to services. In 2025, the Department maintained a strong focus on staff training
and professional development, including de-escalation, crisis response, and scenario -based
training, accountability through policy review, and supervisory oversight. The Department will
focus in the future on expanding outreach, strengthening partnerships, and focusing training on
the skills needed for modern policing, such as mental health response, cultural competency, de-
escalation, incident management, and community engagement.
II. PURPOSE
The City is seeking a well -qualified firm or individual to manage the recruitment process for a
national search from the development of a candidate profile, through the step of an offer of
employment, subject to negotiation with the successful firm/individual.
This RFP is not a contractual offer, nor is it a commitment to purchase services. Contents of
this RFP and the firm's proposal will be used as the basis to determine final contractual
obligations. It is understood that this RFP and the successful firm's proposal may be attached
or included by reference, in part or whole, to any agreement regarding the services included in
this RFP between the City and said firm.
At a minimum, the City of Tukwila requires that consultant proposals address all elements of the
scope description below. Proposals must be prepared in three (3) parts (Scope, Experience,
and Cost) as follows:
III. PROPOSAL — REQUIRED ELEMENTS
A. Part I: Proposed Approach/Scope of Work
The work plan proposal must contain all tasks necessary to accomplish the recruitment,
including the consultant's proposed approach to recruiting qualified candidates, methodology,
work plan and schedules to accomplish all tasks. The proposal must state as completely as
possible: 1) description of the consultant's plan to accomplish the required tasks; and 2)
required involvement of city staff.
Required tasks will include:
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Request for Proposals - Executive Recruitment Services
1. Meet with the City and appropriate internal and community stakeholders to obtain
information regarding position expectations, challenges, requirements and
responsibilities. Include meetings with the Mayor and City Council to establish selection
criteria and highly desired characteristics of the future Chief.
2. Develop a position profile and a plan for advertising and promotion to attract candidates,
leveraging proven strategies from previous similar recruitments.
3. Conduct a direct networking campaign to attract top talent and carry out the advertising
plan, to include national, regional, in -state and local elements based on City meetings.
4. Contact known internal and external potential candidates to encourage application.
5. Outreach to people in similar classifications to encourage application or referral.
6. Accept applications by the deadline. Review and rate applicants according to
established criteria.
7. Screen applicants and determine viable candidates through in -person or video meetings.
Initial screening, to include criminal background check, references, and media review to
ensure finalists have backgrounds of the highest integrity.
8. Deliver to the Mayor and City Administrator a list of the top candidates to be interviewed.
9. Develop potential candidate interview questions in coordination with the City.
10 Lead and manage recruitment and candidate contact through the process in partnership
with the City. Coordinate and schedule candidate interviews including travel
arrangements and accommodations.
11 Provide recommendations for internal and external stakeholder involvement to
encourage equity and diversity in all process steps (including community invitations,
interview panel participants, selection processes).
12 Assist in employment negotiation, including recommendations regarding the terms of
employment, in partnership with Human Resources.
B. Part II: Experience, Qualifications, & References
1. Demonstrated expertise of key personnel in relation to the scope of potential work,
including related degrees, licenses and certifications.
2. Provide examples of representative projects, scope, budget & outcomes achieved.
3. In a statement, provide names, email addresses and phone numbers for a minimum of
three (3) references. References should have direct experience with the proposed firm
and proposed personnel. Consultant must grant the City permission to contact all
references.
4. Statement of guarantee and warranty for selected candidates which leave employment
within 12 months of appointment.
C. Part III: Cost Proposal
1. Identify all costs Consultant will charge for performing the tasks necessary to accomplish
the objectives of this RFP as well as all costs, if any, the Consultant will expect the City
to cover outside of the scope of services of the consultant. The costs must break out all
expenses expected to be covered by the City to complete the recruitment, whether billed
by the consultant or others as part of the recommended recruitment process.
IV. PROPOSAL FORM
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City of Tukwila Police Chief Recruitment
Request for Proposals - Executive Recruitment Services
To assist in the evaluation process, proposals shall conform to the following:
1. Electronic submittals only. Faxed or mailed submittals will not be accepted. All
RFP submittals should be emailed to TukwilaPoliceChief(a�Tukwilawa.gov. Submittals
received by the City will be acknowledged and confirmed via email as soon as possible
upon receipt.
2. Qualifications received later than the submittal due date and time will not be accepted.
The City will not be liable for delays in delivery. Respondents accept all risks of late
delivery of emailed proposals regardless of fault. Please reference "RFP — Police Chief
Recruitment Services" on all communications.
3. Proposal Length
a. The proposal shall be limited to a maximum of 20 numbered pages.
b. Page total excludes resumes, which will be a maximum of 1 page each and
included as an appendix. Do not submit resumes for individuals who will not
actively work on this project. Reference sheet(s) are not counted in the overall
page total included as an appendix.
c. Arial font, no smaller than 10pt, with margins on all edges a minimum of 0.75
inches.
V. BASIS FOR SELECTION
The selection will be based on the proposer's understanding of the City of Tukwila's recruitment
needs, demonstrated experience and qualifications from similar recruitments, and as further
noted in section V. A. Proposal Evaluation Criteria below.
The Selection Committee, determined by the Mayor or designee, will review all proposals and
evaluate all responses received based on the criteria listed herein. The City intends to select the
firm who is evaluated as the highest-ranking firm. The Committee may invite the most qualified
firms or individual(s) to an interview. The City will begin the award process based on the
evaluated scores. Submittals will be scored based on section V. A. Evaluation Criteria.
The City reserves the right to select based solely on the information contained in the written
submittal, or on any combination of written or interview evaluations. The City reserves the right
to either interview selected Firm(s) or request additional information to help in determining the
most qualified Firm. The City may elect to conduct an interview for shortlisted candidates.
The selected firm shall be notified in writing by the City, and no other method shall be
considered to be an official notification of selection by the City.
The City reserves the right to reject any or all submittals. If the City elects to select one of the
submitting firms, the City will have the right to negotiate with said consultant over the final terms
and conditions of the contract in the best interest of the City. The primary objective of the
negotiations is to maximize the City's ability to obtain the best value, based on the requirements
and evaluations relating to this RFP. If an agreement cannot be reached, the negotiations will
be terminated and similar negotiations will occur with the next ranked submitting firm.
Proposal Evaluation Criteria
Proposal Costs
CATEGORY POINTS
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City of Tukwila Police Chief Recruitment
Request for Proposals - Executive Recruitment Services
Provide a current rate schedule for the description of associated work necessary to
complete the requested services. Travel costs for consultants included in fee
proposal.
Proposed Approach
Identify proposed strategies for engaging internal and external stakeholders;
method, concepts/ideas for engaging a broad base of candidates; Describe
diversity, equity and inclusion efforts to ensure a diverse qualified candidate pool;
Identify methods of interviewing and selection criteria that ensures unbiased hiring;
Provide other methods & approaches that demonstrate ability to recruit qualified
candidates.
Availability, Response Time and Schedule
Provide a statement of firm's current availability and communication plan with the
City. Within your proposal, please note the response and completion time your
Firm would need for the requested services and anticipated schedule.
Experience, Qualifications & References
Demonstrated expertise of key personnel in relation to the scope of potential work,
including relevant degrees, licenses and certifications. Demonstrate extensive
knowledge and experience of recruitment processes for key leadership roles in
municipal government. Provide examples of representative projects, scope, budget
& outcome. Demonstrate experience and expertise in executive searches for police
and public safety organizational leadership. Statement of guarantee and warranty
for selected candidates which leave employment within 12 months of appointment.
Presentation, Organization and Clarity of Submittal
The organization of the RFP submittal and information presentation will be
evaluated as an indication of the Firm's ability to assemble clear and concise
documents and to present the project to the City.
20
35
15
25
5
TOTAL 100
VI. OTHER TERMS AND CONDITIONS
A. Consultant Fee and Contract:
Upon selection, the fee and contract will be negotiated with the Mayor or designee. The
successful firm will be required to sign the City's Professional Services Agreement, a copy of
which is enclosed with this RFP [Appendix A]. All submitting Firms are directed to carefully
review the Professional Services Agreement before preparing their submittal. The successful
firm will not be able to substantially modify the terms of the City's Professional Services
Agreement.
B. Related Services
Any contract award resulting from this solicitation may be expanded to cover related items,
provided that such services are formally furnished by the consultant.
C. Communications
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City of Tukwila Police Chief Recruitment
Request for Proposals - Executive Recruitment Services
All questions regarding this proposal shall be directed to: Marty Wine, City Administrator, Email:
marty.wine@tukwilawa.gov Phone: 206.928.5314. Please write "RFP — Police Chief
Recruitment Services" in the subject line for all emails and correspondence related to this
project.
D. Late Proposals and Modifications
Proposals and modifications received after the stated time of closing may be returned
unopened. The City is not responsible for late deliveries. Time of closing will be determined per
the Pacific Time Clock at http://www.time.gov/
E. Withdrawal of Proposals
Proposals may be withdrawn by written request up to one (1) hour after the stated time of
closing, as mentioned above. Determination of the one -hour grace period shall be calculated
based on the same reference as noted above.
F. City Responsibilities
City staff will assist the selected firm where possible but said firm should anticipate and be
prepared to be completely self-reliant in accomplishing the tasks associated with this RFP. The
City will provide, when available, project information and any other associated project
documents. The City will coordinate the candidate reference and background check process
with the selected firm.
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Request for Proposals - Executive Recruitment Services
VII. SCHEDULE AND PROPOSAL PROCESS
The City provides the following consultant selection schedule. This is for information only and
will be adjusted as needed. Proposers are encouraged to reserve flexibility for interviews as the
City will not be able to allow much advance notice when scheduling initial interviews.
• Distribution of RFP — April 10 - April 24, 2026
• Deadline for Submittal of Proposals — May 26, 2026, at 4:30 p.m. All submissions must
be received by the City no later than this date and time. Late submittals will not be
considered.
• Possible Finalist interviews: Week of June 1, 2026
• Final date for firm selection: June 8, 2026
• Work Commences: June 15, 2026
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