Joshua A. Garcia will become the full-town town administrator for Blandford beginning Oct. 1.
BLANDFORD – The town of Blandford has hired Daniel Ilnicky as its new temporary/interim part-time police chief, according to interim Town Administrator Joshua A. Garcia. Ilnicky also serves as part-time police chief in the town of Chester.
Garcia said 15 people applied for the position. He reviewed the applications and narrowed them down to three that met the criteria, who were interviewed last week by the Select Board. Ilnicky was the strongest and most qualified candidate, according to Garcia. “He talks about solutions,” he said.
The search came after the entire Blandford police force resigned on July 30, a story that made national news, even appearing on the front page of the New York Times. The resignations came one week after a joint meeting between Blandford and Chester officials, to discuss the possibility of sharing a police force.
However, Garcia said Ilnicky, who started this week is employed by the town and working directly for Blandford. “There is no shared service arrangement, but we certainly do see the benefit and value of having a chief from a nearby department as chief here,” he said.
The police chief, who started this week, will work the posted hours on Mondays in the Town Hall, to handle LTC (License to Carry) permits and other business. In between, he’ll be out implementing the community police model in the town, Garcia said.
Garcia’s status for the town has also changed. Hired as an interim town administrator in the spring, his contract was extended to the end of August during a search process for a new TA. However, following the selection of a candidate, that person withdrew their name. Now, beginning Oct. 1, Garcia will be the full-time administrator for Blandford, and will no longer be working for the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission, where he is the municipal services manager. His previous part-time service in Blandford was considered a PVPC project.
Although still retaining the title of temporary Town Administrator, Garcia has agreed to remain in Blandford for up to three years. “I’m committed. I came in here to help the town with the town administrator search. Right when we found the perfect candidate, they withdrew. For us to step out of the picture now, would be to start over,” Garcia said.
Before making the decision, he had a long conversation with his wife and his boss at PVPC, said Garcia, who lives in Holyoke. “That’s how serious we all are. We all want to see Blandford do well. Give us anywhere between two and five years, and Blandford will be the shining town on the hill,” he said, adding, “It was definitely a leap of faith.”
Garcia said that his goals for the town are shared by the accountant and treasurer/collector, who have both come in this year to help Blandford sort through the aftermath left by a former collector who embezzled an estimated $150,000 from the town, and who was convicted of the crime earlier this year.
Garcia said so far, he has received positive feedback from residents. “People are happy when they call the town and get a call back,” he said. He also said his focus right now is improving the finances in the town. He has applied for two Best Practices grants through the Community Compact agreement the town signed with the Baker-Polito administration. The grants are for financial management; one to help establish a budget document that details all revenue and expenditures, and one to develop a long-range planning and forecasting model over a multi-year period.
“We’re doing a lot of catch up from previous years. Focusing on the day to day and moving forward, so the next TA and treasurer/collector will have clear procedures to follow,” Garcia said, adding, “The objectives are very clear, and we have a lot of internal momentum. That’s what happens when you hire experts; you get quality work.”
Towards that end, Garcia and the finance team, who he calls “Team Economics,” are planning a Special Town Meeting with the Board of Selectmen for September 25, to present a restructuring plan to residents.
“We recognize the value, and realize what’s at stake. This is what we do,” Garcia said.
