Saturday, July 3, 2010

“Search is on for interim, permanent superintendent in East Windsor” plus 2 more

“Search is on for interim, permanent superintendent in East Windsor” plus 2 more

Five Filters featured article: Headshot - Propaganda, State Religion and the Attack On the Gaza Peace Flotilla. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

Search is on for interim, permanent superintendent in East Windsor

Posted: 02 Jul 2010 10:21 PM PDT

Search Called Off For Missing Joshua Tree Hiker

Posted: 02 Jul 2010 03:18 PM PDT

Copyright 2010 KESQ. City News Service contributed to this report. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Five Filters featured article: Headshot - Propaganda, State Religion and the Attack On the Gaza Peace Flotilla. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

Search panel meets with selectmen

Posted: 02 Jul 2010 06:32 AM PDT

Friday, July 2, 2010

By HATTIE BERNSTEIN

Staff Writer

BROOKLINE – The seven-member police chief search committee met with the Board of Selectmen on Monday to confirm its commitment to finding the best match for the town.

No time was wasted in setting up a first meeting, which was scheduled for 7:15 Wednesday night at Town Hall.

"I would like to see the town feel, when we're finished, that we did a good job and all were well-served," said committee member Ann Somers.

The search committee has until Aug. 30 to find and recommend a candidate to the Board of Selectmen for the police chief's position, which became open at the end of April after Chief Thomas Goulden was fired, challenged the dismissal and negotiated an out-of-court settlement with the town.

The Board of Selectmen did not give a reason for the dismissal.

Selectmen advertised for a volunteer search committee for the sake of transparency: Every meeting will be open to the public, and committee members will have a hand in studying resumes, as well as making recommendations to the board.

On Wednesday, the search committee planned to elect a chairman and to discuss its charge, starting with placing ads in area newspapers and other venues, and setting up interviews with members of the Police Department, as well as the town's road agent and fire and ambulance department heads.

In addition, committee members have agreed to use other resources, including the Local Government Center and Municipal Resources, to aid their search.

The Board of Selectmen, furthermore, has said it is likely to include volunteer committee members in the interview process, including meetings with finalists.

Committee members had plenty of questions for the board Monday night. Of particular concern were issues related to the Right-to-Know Law and whether the public will be allowed to attend the meetings.

Under state law, anyone may attend a public meeting, although a committee or board has the right to go into nonpublic session to discuss personalities or to protect the privacy of someone whose reputation could be injured during a public discussion.

Committee members also asked if the police chief's job description would be changed or fine-tuned.

Selectmen's Chairwoman Linda Saari told the volunteers that the job description was last reviewed by the Local Government Center in 2003 and might need some adjustments.

Suggesting changes to the job description, however, isn't within the scope of the committee's charge, Saari said, adding that the board would welcome ideas that arise during the process.

The six volunteers selected to serve on the police chief search committee are Somers, a resident for about 10 years who has been active on the police facilities committee and in other local organizations; Susan Adams, a three-year resident who has more than 10 years' experience in human resources; John Carr, a retired Brockton, Mass., police officer who has lived in town for two years and ran unsuccessfully for the Board of Selectmen; Bob Parodi, an attorney and former selectmen's chairman who has lived in town for more than 20 years; Laurie Perreault, an attorney and seven-year resident who comes from a family of police officers; and Tom Moran, a longtime resident.

The chief's job has been posted internally as required under town personnel policy.

Sgt. Michael Kurland is serving as acting chief of police.

Kurland was appointed to fill the top post on an interim basis after Goulden's dismissal.

Selectman Jack Flanagan, who served on the School Board, said he was heartened by the strong show of interest in helping officials find a new police chief.

"It seems to be a larger number than what I experienced on the School Board," he said, contrasting the chief's search with past searches for school officials.

Flanagan has said he will not serve as chairman of the search committee, given his position, and vote, as a selectman.

Nineteen residents and one department head who lives outside town submitted their names to serve on the committee, a happy challenge for the board.

But it was difficult to pare the list of prospective volunteers, and in the end, the board voted to increase the number on the committee from five to seven, including Flanagan.

The board also said it would include department heads in the decision-making process, and as a result, no department heads were included in the volunteer search committee.

Volunteers said they are looking forward to getting started, and the mood was upbeat during a brief question-and-answer session Monday.

"I'm very excited, and I think it's a great idea to use a committee," Adams said. "My background is in HR, so it's the right fit for me, the way I can be best used and a very important role."

Hattie Bernstein can be reached at 673-3100, ext. 24, or hbernstein@cabinet.com.

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