WOONSOCKET — The search committee for the new police chief has not met yet but two of its duties — finalizing advertisements and coming up with resumé questionnaires — already have been done by the administration.

The City Council passed an ordinance April 7 that sets up guidelines for the hiring of a new police chief. The ordinance calls for a seven-member search committee that includes two members from the council, an outside law enforcement official, two people from the community, a police union representative and a representative of the mayor.

Councilwoman Stella Brien said that she would have liked for Council President Leo Fontaine and Christopher Beauchamp of the search committee to have been able to look at the candidate questionnaires before they were sent out after she was told Personnel Director Owen Bebeau had prepared them.

“It’s a huge responsibility to be involved. Every night I don’t want to watch the news. You hear about all those children being abducted. Every time you see Woonsocket in the news you hope this will move us in the right direction and tighten up the police force,” she said. “I wish you luck”

Fontaine said that the job requirement changes the council made, which the ordinance made more stringent, were not changed on one of the national Web sites where the city advertised. He had been told by Michael Annarummo, director of administration, that it would be corrected and that as a result the application time would be extended. So far, 51 people have applied for the job.

“Now that the ordinance has taken effect the provisions in the ordinance need to be followed,” Fontaine said. “I hope at this point the [administration] can hold off,” so the search committee has a chance to meet and do its work.

Fontaine said that the committee will most likely meet for the first time next week.

The ordinance stipulates a specific process for evaluating a candidate, which includes testing and interviews, before picking the top three candidates so that the public safety director can choose the finalist.

The chief must have a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice or a related field from an accredited institution of higher learning, and he must take a test that will gauge his knowledge of police work. The former chief, Michael L. A. Houle, was promoted to chief by Mayor Susan D. Menard. Houle retired last month, after he and deputy chief Richard Dubois were accused by Houle’s ex-wife of changing test scores to get her on the force. The men have denied the accusation.

tpina@projo.com