City councillor Paula Havixbeck has left the committee struck to choose Winnipeg's next chief of police.

The committee, headed by the city's Chief Administrative Officer, Phil Sheegl, is looking for a replacement for Keith McCaskill who retires in December.

Havixbeck said she quit when it became "abundantly" clear the decision on the new chief would be made by Sheegl.

Havixbeck said legally, it is his decision to make, but she'd hoped to have some input.

"I guess I believed, perhaps maybe a bit naively, that it might be by consensus," she told CBC.

"So, it isn't and it is what it is and we'll move forward and work with whatever chief gets appointed," she said.

Havixbeck chairs the city's protection and community services committee which oversees police services.