SOUTHWICK – During Monday night’s meeting, the Select Board continued to discuss the process for filling the role of Southwick Chief of Police. Current Chief, David Ricardi’s, contract expires in June of 2018 and he will be retiring at that time leaving a vacancy in the town’s top cop position.
The Select Board started their conversation by reviewing the job description that they have had in place over the years, even before Ricardi was hired in 2013.
The Select Board continued to discuss the Chief of Police process during Monday night’s meeting. (Photo courtesy of Greg Fitzpatrick)
Vice-Chairman Joe Deedy addressed the requisite number of years of experience that an individual should have in order to be a candidate for Chief of Police. In the past, hopeful candidates had to have a master’s and a bachelor’s degree along with a certain number of years of experience. Deedy wants to eliminate the educational degree component and just make it required for the candidate to have five or six years of Sergeant or Lieutenant’s experience.
The Select Board then went on to talk about how many candidates they should allow to interview for the position. In past years, the Select Board held an open session in which they interviewed five or six candidates within the Southwick Police Department. The board ended up agreeing on doing the same thing for this process.
“I think it’s fair to open it up,” said Select Board Clerk Russ Fox.
While Chairman Doug Moglin was in favor of having the qualifications of experience at Sergeant or Lieutenant, he expressed that he wants the job description to include more years of experience as Sergeant.
“Personally, I would like to see some tenure as a Sergeant in command,” said Moglin.
At the end of their discussion, the Select Board said that they’re waiting to see when the job will be posted and will also be speaking to labor counsel soon.
