It’s not often, said Auburn Mayor Nancy Backus, that she gets a chance to celebrate someone whose tenure with the city has lasted 30 years.

But at Monday evening’s Auburn City Council meeting, Backus found just such a person — Auburn Police Chief Mark Caillier — and publicly thanked him for his “years of honorable service.”

Years crowded with accomplishments.

Caillier has been a police officer since 1991 three years before the Auburn Police Department hired him and put him to work as a patrol officer, Backus began. From there he would serve as a major crimes detective, a field training officer, an EVOC instructor, a SWAT Officer and a K9 handler.

At that point, Backus, noting the variety of positions he’s held, couldn’t resist having a bit of good-natured fun at the affable Caillier.

“You couldn’t keep a job!?” Backus asked, drawing laughter from the audience.

Before his promotion to sergeant in 2007, Backus continued, Caillier supervised the Major Crimes Unit from January 2011 to November 2013, when he was promoted to the rank of commander. As a commander, he supervised the Patrol Division and Inspectional Services Division. He is a past team leader for the Valley Civil Disturbance Unit and was a lead supervisor for the Valley Independent Investigations Team.

Caillier holds a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Washington State University and is a 2017 graduate of Northwestern University School of Police Staff and Command. He is a member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police and the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs. He was promoted to assistant chief on Aug. 1, 2018, and then was sworn in as chief on Oct. 4, 2021.

“Do we have 30 more?” Backus asked.

“I don’t think my hair will support that,” Caillier, who is mostly bald, answered.