The Oakdale City Council will discuss the possibility of making Interim Police Chief Lester Jenkins the department’s permanent police chief in closed session for Monday’s June 18, council meeting.

Jenkins, 55, stepped into the role when former Police Chief Marty West retired from the department in January.

Jenkins has been in law enforcement for over 22 years and served his entire time with the Oakdale Police Department. Starting as a patrol officer in 1990, Jenkins rose through the ranks to sergeant, lieutenant, and now as interim chief.

The city may face difficulty if it chooses to look outside the department for its leader. In March 2011, the city adopted a two-tier retirement system for new workers. The lowered two percent formula for police employees may inhibit experienced candidates from applying to Oakdale that are already in a three percent system with another agency.

For more of this story on Monday’s council meeting, look to the June 20 edition of The Leader.