Des Moines has invited community leaders, police accountability organizations and neighborhood groups to give their feedback on what qualities they’d like to see in the next police chief of Iowa’s capital city.

In an April 4 letter from Des Moines Police Chief Dana Wingert to Des Moines City Manager Scott Sanders, Wingert, 54, said he will retire in the fall with an anticipated leave date of Oct. 1. Wingert, who spent nearly a decade as the chief and a total of three decades in law enforcement, said in the letter he wants to be involved in the search for his replacement.

The recruitment process for his successor kicked off in mid-June with the Des Moines Civil Service Commission‘s approval. The board oversees the appointment and dismissals of civil service employees, including the police chief.

How can I help with the search for a new Des Moines police chief?

The hiring process already has started with focus group meetings between city leaders, community members, Public Sector Search & Consulting, a California-based company police executive recruiting firm hired by the city to aid in the process, the Civil Service Commission, and an internal Police Department employee survey, according to Human Resources Director James Wells. The feedback collected from the focus group meetings will be used to create a job posting, which is set to go live in mid-July.

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The community can share their input with any of the people involved, according to the city.

Sue Hudson with the Iowa Asian Alliance, an organization that advocates for more than 20 countries, told the Des Moines Register she’s grateful the city is allowing different people to have a voice in the process. In a recent focus group meeting with the consulting firm, Hudson said she expressed wanting an approachable chief, whom the community can look up to and who “understands” Iowa and Midwest life.

She said she hopes stakeholders can stay involved in the hiring process beyond helping craft the job posting.

“I’m very grateful that we get to be involved in this process because it makes us feel that, you know, that they value our opinion and the Police Department does care. And one thing that we do ask, that our involvement doesn’t end here,” she said. “Of course, we understand that the decision-making is not up to us, but we would like to be able to be a part of this from the beginning to the end.”

King Irving Neighborhood Association president Margaret Wright told the Register one of her suggestions during the focus group meeting was to hire a police chief who will consider implementing more recommendations from recent Police Department studies completed by 21CP and Public Works, LLC. The city hired the firms to provide feedback on the Police Department’s best practices, data and culture.

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Here are the stakeholders involved in the process and the organizations they represent, as provided by the city of Des Moines:

• Ako Abdul-Samad, Creative Visions

• Jose Alvarado, Latinx Immigrants of Iowa

• Brad Anderson, AARP

• Betty Andrews, NAACP

• Keenan Crowe/designee, One Iowa

• George Davis, Southwestern Hills Neighborhood Association

• Marvin DeJear, The Directors Council

• Peggy Fitch, Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement/Just Voices

• Joe Gonzalez, Latino Heritage Festival

• Harvey Harrison, Just Voices

• Hadley Harvey, DSM Youth Advisory Board

• Sue Hudson, Iowa Asian Alliance

• Vernon Johnson, Oakridge Neighborhood

• Alfonso Perez, HELPDSM/Community Foundation For Inspired Giving

• Veola Perry, Iowa CCI

• Lynell Stewart, Iowa CCI/Just Voices

• Tiffany Tauscheck, Greater Des Moines Partnership

• Margaret Wright, King Irving Neighborhood Association

• April Wyss, Merle Hay Neighborhood Association

• Lori Young, Just Voices

• Sharon Zanders, Iowa CCI

Virginia Barreda is the Des Moines city government reporter for the Register. She can be reached at vbarreda@dmreg.com. Follow her on Twitter at @vbarreda2.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: How to help search for next Des Moines police chief