New Colorado Springs Fire Chief named

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- Colorado Springs didn't have to go far to find its new Fire Chief -- Deputy Fire Chief Randy Royal has been named as Chief Ted Collas' replacement following Collas' retirement in March.

Royal has been with the Colorado Springs Fire Department for 34 years, serving in a "chief officer" role for 16 of those years.

“Randy understands the unique needs of our community, and his experience includes leadership roles during the Waldo Canyon and Black Forest fires," said Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers. "We had several great candidates from across the country, but ultimately we chose to select a highly-qualified, long-time member of our community. I’m very happy to announce that Deputy Chief Randy Royal will serve as the next Colorado Springs Fire Chief.”

Suthers had said back in October that the city would conduct a nationwide search for a replacement, but he added he was "certain that we will have strong and well-qualified internal candidates in the mix."

The announcement came as a surprise on Friday, however, and it's not clear if the City of Colorado Springs followed the rules in making the announcement.

According to Title 24 of the Colorado Revised Statutes, which deals with open meetings laws:

A search committee of a state public body or local public body shall establish job search goals, including the writing of the job description, deadlines for applications, requirements for applicants, selection procedures, and the time frame for appointing or employing a chief executive officer of an agency, authority, institution, or other entity at an open meeting. The state or local public body shall make public the list of all finalists under consideration for the position of chief executive officer no later than fourteen days prior to appointing or employing one of the finalists to fill the position. No offer of appointment or employment shall be made prior to this public notice.

We've reached out to the City for more information on the appointment process used to select Royal.