The Honolulu Police Commission’s search for a new chief is expected to last through at least October, three months behind schedule.

Commissioners were told Wednesday by Dan Lawrence, their executive director, that the city still does not have a contract with a consulting firm to guide the panel through the selection process.

“I’m cautiously optimistic that we are … close to awarding the contract with our consultant,” Lawrence said. “I am cautious because of the land mines we have encountered so far, and we are in process but I feel that we’re very close.”

Former Police Chief Louis Kealoha retired effective March 1, several months after receiving a letter informing him that he is a target of a federal corruption case. The chief’s job pays $191,184 annually.

The commission’s first choice for a consultant backed out near the end of negotiations in June, and talks began with the second-ranked firm in late June. The commission had initially hoped to have a chief on board by July.

Meanwhile, in an effort to speed up the process, the commissioners agreed to meet again Friday to discuss a response to a request by the unnamed consultant for their views on what qualities they want in their new chief.

Commissioner Steven Levinson voiced frustration at the hiring process. “The commission, as a body, has been completely uninvolved in the consultant selection process,” he said, pointing out that none of the commissioners knows the identity of the firm in negotiations, with the exception of Commission Chairman Max Sword.

When Levinson asked for the firm’s name, Lawrence said: “I’m not comfortable sharing it until the contract is executed. The procurement code’s kind of a stickler.”

Lawrence said the contract will include a timetable that would have a written exam administered to the 34 qualified chief candidates in late August. That would be followed by establishment of an assessment center to further test those remaining after the written portion, sometime in mid- or late September.

Sword told reporters during a commission recess that that would mean a chief won’t be hired until at least sometime in October.