Shenandoah City Council officially appointed Troye Dunlap as the Shenandoah chief of police during a Sept. 9 meeting.

"This is kinda like my favorite item ... which is usually a new employee, but this is a promotion of an employee," Shenandoah Mayor Ritch Wheeler said. "I don’t think this was a big surprise. Troye’s been doing such an outstanding job the last several months that this was a pretty easy one on the agenda."

Dunlap has been the acting chief of police since May 1 and was formally appointed as the interim chief of police during a May 13 meeting.

Dunlap has served on the Shenandoah Police Department for 23 years after joining in 1997 as a reserve officer. He oversees a staff of 17 patrol officers, one lieutenant, three sergeants, one detective, one investigator, two community resource officers, one evidence specialist and one administrative assistant.

Dunlap has spoken about his plans for the department as the chief of police, which include expanding training options for officers, better communication between the department and the public, and creating a citizens academy for outreach opportunities.