The Town of Camp Verde is one step closer to choosing a new town marshal.
Current Marshal Dave Smith, who at times has also served as acting town manager and human resources director, announced earlier this year that he would be stepping down and retiring from the top cop job at the Camp Verde Marshal’s Office.
Smith’s last day is Saturday, Dec. 31.
Town Manager Russ Martin has had no shortage of potential replacements to choose from.
Martin said that since the town started advertising for the impending opening, he received around 80 applications for the job.
“They were from all over Arizona and the country,” Martin said.
Martin narrowed the stack down to about 20 applicants. Then he enlisted the help of other police chiefs in the Verde Valley and surrounding region to review the list and help whittle it down even further.
“We’ve got it down to six finalists,” Martin said.
Three of those finalists are from Arizona, the other three are from out of state.
Martin said he plans to interview the candidates in Camp Verde all day Thursday, Dec. 15.
Martin said he was waiting to make sure all six candidates were committed to the interview. Once he knows for sure, Martin said he expects to release their names sometime this week.
“I want to give each of them time to consider whether they want to come here,” Martin said.
Once the interviews are complete, Martin said he plans to set aside a couple of weeks for in-depth background checks on the candidates.
“I expect to announce the selection sometime shortly after the first of the year,” Martin said.
Smith has been the chief law enforcement official in Camp Verde for about eight years.
Smith said that he first started out in law enforcement in the town of Coolidge, followed by a brief stint as chief of the Snowflake-Taylor Police Department. He then got a job with the police department in Marana. Finally, he came to Camp Verde in 2003.
“I want to express my appreciation to Mr. Dave Smith for his service to the town, his assistance to the town during transitions in the manager’s office during his more than [seven] years of service and finally but most importantly his outstanding professionalism and commitment to the Camp Verde community,” Martin said in a statement following Smith’s announcement in September. “We wish him the best and look forward to his and his family’s continued contributions to Camp Verde in his retirement.”
Smith said at the time that he’s appreciated working for Camp Verde.
“I sincerely thank the community for the opportunity to serve,” Smith wrote. “It has truly been a pleasure.”
