POULSBO — Deputy Police Chief Andy Pate says it will probably take “as much as a month” for Poulsbo to name its new chief of police.

“They’re not taking any chances,” he said.

The previous chief, Al Townsend, resigned abruptly last March. Townsend had been hired as Poulsbo police chief in March 2013 and his administration was plagued with personnel problems.

In April 2013, Sgt. Wendy Davis resigned; she stepped into a sergeant’s position — Mayor Becky Erickson said it was a temporary appointment — after Davis and Pate, who at the time was her subordinate, became romantically involved. (The two married on April 26, 2015, Pate said.)

In June 2013, Police Officer Ricki Sabado retired, ending an investigation into whether he knew anything about his wife and son’s alleged behavior before their separate arrests for DUI and trafficking in stolen property.

In January 2015, Deputy Police Chief Bob Wright resigned amid an investigation into his alleged conduct during a dispute with his estranged wife, also a law enforcement officer.

Finally, there were questions as to whether Townsend was involved in an inappropriate relationship with a female officer.

Former deputy police chief Shawn Delaney has been running the department in the interim, with the title of public safety director.

The seven finalists for police chief were interviewed Aug. 15 and 16 by a panel of city officials and law enforcement officials. Their final choice or choices will have to undergo extensive further vetting, including lie detector tests.

“They want to get it right this time,” Pate said.

The mayor and city officials began the search in June. Local law enforcement officers and the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs assisted in the recruitment and selection process.

The finalists:

— James Lee Dunlap, precinct commander, Chesapeake, Virginia, Police Department.

— Robert S. Heimbach, chief of police, Quincy Police Department.

— Douglas E. Jones, operations and administrative captain, Wenatchee Police Department.

— Christopher D. Old, captain, Washington State Patrol, Bremerton.

— Harold “Steve” Turner, district administrative/field captain, Indianapolis, Indiana, Police Department.

— Daniel Ronald Schoonmaker, deputy chief of police, Westminster, California, Police Department.

— Ronald J. Walsh Jr., inspector/commanding officer, Nassau County Police Department, Nassau County, Long Island, New York.