WESTBROOK – Mayor Colleen Hilton will announce her choice for the city’s public safety director Friday in a press conference, after screening about a dozen qualified candidates, according to City Administrator Jerre Bryant.

Bryant said this week Hilton has chosen which of two finalists is her choice to assume the one position that will run both the city’s police and fire departments. Bryant declined to name the two finalists.

The change to the city’s public safety management began abruptly during the mayor’s inauguration speech on Jan. 4, 2010, when she announced she would not be reappointing Fire Chief Daniel Brock.

During the interim, the city hired Mike Pardue, a consultant, to lead the department out of a period marked by scandal and sexual harassment lawsuits. At the time, Hilton said, Pardue’s appointment represented a “transition period” for the department.

Then, in the first week of January 2011, Police Chief Bill Baker announced his retirement, and instead of simply finding a replacement, Hilton took the opportunity to create a new position, director of public safety, which replaces the positions of both fire chief and police chief.

The move follows other consolidations the mayor has made in city staff, such as the chief financial officer, a position that now oversees both municipal and school district finances.

Pardue has been the interim public safety director while the city decided who would hold the new title permanently.

Bryant said a typical hiring process for a police or fire chief could involve dozens of qualified candidates, but the fact that there were only approximately 12 applicants initially says something about how unique this position is.

“Considering the qualifications that this position necessitates, there’s not a wide spectrum of people who have the experience with police and fire management that would be appropriate for this position,” Bryant said.

The first round of interviews involved the 12 candidates being screened by a group made up one fire department employee, one police department employee, two city councilors and the city’s public safety commission.

From there, Bryant said, the pool of candidates was narrowed to two, and the second round of interviews were conducted by Bryant, Hilton, Councilors Michael Foley and Brendan Rielly, and the city’s human resources director, Martha Sumner.

Bryant said the city charter does not technically address how the position must be filled, since the position is such a new one, but all fire chief and police chief position appointments, which are the purview of the mayor, must be approved by the City Council.

Bryant said the council would be officially presented with the mayor’s recommended appointment at its meeting Monday, June 6.