Community Impact reports that on January 23rd Jon Buckholtz was named police chief by the Conroe City Council.
Interim Police Chief Lee Tipton will be replaced by Buckholtz. Tipton temporarily replaced retiring chief Jeff Christy.
Conroe’s Human Resource Director Andre Houser said a three member council committee and three staff members committee was put together to vet the candidates. Houser said, “Over 40 highly qualified applicants from around the state” applied for the position. Out of the 40, after narrowing it down to 5, four were interviewed, as one candidate withdrew before the interview process began.
Abstaining from the vote was Councilmember Howard Wood. He said he couldn’t vote after listening to the discussions during executive session.
Coming from the Montgomery County District Attorney’s office, Buckholtz, since 2018, was a criminal investigator. Before that, he was a division commander lieutenant with the Conroe Police Department. He started his career there in 1997.
Interim City Attorney Mike Garner was appointed by the council as City attorney. This follows his service as interim city attorney.
According to the city’s website, 170 sworn officers and 46 civilian employees staff the police department. They also have volunteers who help out.
