Simi Valley Tentatively Selects New Chief for Police Department : Law enforcement: The head of the Urbana, Ill., force, now undergoing a background check, may replace Lindsay P. Miller.

In a move that could be finalized as early as next week, the city of Simi Valley has tentatively selected an Illinois police chief to replace outgoing Police Chief Lindsay P. Miller.

Willard Schlieter, chief of the Urbana Police Department, has been selected by City Manager Lin Koester to replace Miller, who is scheduled to leave the department Feb. 10, sources said.

Koester will decide whether to formally offer Schlieter the job after an extensive background check now under way, sources said.

The city manager confirmed Thursday that he has made a final selection, but declined to name Miller’s replacement until the background check is complete.

“I made the final selection of the individual last week after looking through resumes and doing some reference checking, and that person was contacted,” Koester said. “We agreed that I would not release the name until I was able to make an offer.”

Schlieter could not be reached for comment.

News of the selection caught Simi Valley’s 109 sworn officers off guard.

“We just don’t know anything about him; they’ve kept this pretty close to the vest,” Capt. Jerry Boyce said. “The feeling was, ‘How come the newspaper knows more than we do and it’s our department?’ ”

Boyce was the only Simi Valley representative among 10 finalists for the job interviewed Jan. 7 by a special search panel. He was not among the top four candidates later interviewed by Koester, Mayor Greg Stratton and Councilman Judy Mikels.

“I was disappointed and I just hoped they would find someone who was good for the department,” Boyce said. “You might say that my disappointment at not making chief has been severely overshadowed by the earthquake.”

Boyce said he planned to remain in Simi Valley and hoped that he could help in the new chief’s transition.

Stratton confirmed Thursday that a tentative selection has been made, but joined Koester in declining to name the preferred candidate.

“We are in the process of doing the background investigation on our tentative selection and that’s all I can officially say,” Stratton said.

Koester said he hoped that the background check, which is being conducted by Assistant City Manager Mike Sedell at a cost to the city of between $5,000 and $10,000, will be finished by next week.

“It’s a comprehensive background check,” Koester said. “We go into the community and talk to community leaders; we talk to former employers, people who worked for the person. It’s kind of a confirmation that everything is as indicated, plus a check into how the person worked with different groups, individuals.”

Miller, 55, announced in October that he was ending a 32-year career in law enforcement that included 12 years as Simi Valley police chief and 20 years with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. As police chief, he is widely credited with bringing order to a once-roguish band of law enforcement officers and with increasing department efficiency.

Shortly after Miller announced his retirement, the city launched a nationwide search to fill the position that pays between $76,500 and $97,000 a year and received 51 applications.

While he would not identify his selection, Koester did describe the individual qualities he said helped him make the choice.

“The applicant I selected had a really broad range of experience,” Koester said. He also praised the candidate as honest, forthright, fiscally responsible, articulate and knowledgeable.

“I believe that the individual I selected, assuming the background all checks out and there are no problems, is precisely what the community is looking for at this point in time,” Koester said.