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The Bartlesville City Council has approved a contract with Strategic Government Resources to assist in recruitment for a new fire chief. The move comes following the announcement that current Fire Chief John Banks will retire later this year.

Human Resources Director Laura Sanders told Bartlesville’s City Beat that they received notification that Fire Chief Banks will be retiring on Wednesday, June 30th, 2021 after 42 years of service. She thanked him for his dedication, loyalty and sacrifice to the City of Bartlesville.

With Chief Bank’s upcoming retirement comes the responsibility of filling his shoes. After exploring options and looking at what we did when we hired our police chief in 2018, Sanders said they would like to take a similar approach here and work with Strategic Government Resources to accomplish this.

Sanders said SGR will help in garnering a competitive applicant pool while streamlining the hiring process. The company will conduct digital marketing to post the position and accept and review applications, narrowing the field to the top candidates. Further narrowing will occur with the use of a questionnaire as well as online and in-person interviews. SGR will conduct background checks as well.

The application process is expected to open within the next week, Sanders said. It is anticipated the final selection will be announced in late spring or early summer.

For more information, contact the Human Resources Department at hr@cityofbartlesville.org or 918.338.4221.