The City of Geneva has a new police chief.
Acting Police Chief Michael Passalacqua was promoted to the position of Police Chief – effective Friday, July 27th.
After the City Manager team’s discussions with the Acting Chief, input from staff, City Council, the Community Compact Advisory Group and through several community forums around the City, and hearing feedback in-person, phone calls and emails; it was determined that Mike displayed the qualities and vision necessary to move our Police Department in a positive direction and enhance the Police Department’s relationship with all members of the community, according to an email from the City.
The City Manager Team, which consists of Sage Gerling, Doris Myers and Adam Blowers added the following in the emailed announcement. “We received a lot of feedback from City Councilors, staff, and community members including police officers, residents and the Community Compact Advisory Group. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive. Some common themes were: his openness to new ideas, professionalism, respect, heavy emphasis on continuing to learn by attending trainings and especially his open-door policy in which he welcomed anyone to contact him with any concerns. Mike also understands the importance of more of his front line staff to participate more in community events, meetings, and other engagement opportunities to build stronger relationships with the police force and our community members.”
On Thursday, the incoming police chief added the following:
“This is what I’ve dreamed of and worked hard for in my career. I would not be here without the support of my family and from all of the community members who have taken the time to get to know me in this process and in my career with the department. This is a great time to be in the forefront of this department. We have a great team and are currently filling some of our vacant positions and we will then be able to provide even more support to the community and have even more engagement opportunities every day. I want to be more progressive and be sure that we have all of the resources, skills, and tools to be successful serving the City of Geneva. I am very excited to be a part of Geneva in this role as it is moving in a steadfast, clear direction through our leadership and Comp plan guidance.”
