By Beth David, Editor
At its meeting on Monday, 6/10/24, the Fairhaven Select Board heard from labor counsel about possible ways to proceed in the process for hiring a new police chief. Chief Michael Myers is expected to retire on August 10.
Town Administrator Angie Lopes Ellison chose Daniel Dorgan to be the next chief and introduced him to the Select Board last fall. However, he was not the first person on the Civil Service list, Sgt. Matthew Botelho was.
Ms. Ellison believed that the police department was no longer on civil service. She complied with most of the requirements of civil service, however, except for the requirement that if the first person on the list is bypassed, the hiring authority needs to submit the rationale in writing.
Sgt. Botelho appealed to the Civil Service Commission (CSC). His appeal was “dismissed nisi,” which means it takes effect on 8/10/24. The reason for the dismissal is that there is no vacancy yet, and Sgt. Dorgan has not been officially hired. But, in essence, the CSC ruled in favor of Sgt. Botelho.
The process used to choose Sgt. Dorgan included an assessment center that ranked five candidates for the position. Then Ms. Ellison conducted her own interviews. The TA has hiring authority for the chief position with the approval of the Select Board.
John Clifford and Rich Massina from Clifford and Kenny, explained the process to the board.
First Mr. Massina explained that the town thought the department, including the chief, was out of civil service. Mr. Massina said “significant research” showed that the chief’s position was placed in Civil Service in 1938, almost 20 years before the rest of the department.
He said the town must make a decision on how to remove the position from Civil Service and to hire a chief. He said the CSC will have a “watchful eye” on the town.
He said they told CSC that the town would put it on the ballot in November to remove the chief from civil service. He also said that although Sgt. Botelho asked that only the assessment center scores be used, the CSC said that the town can conduct further interviews. He said the assessment center is more general, and local interviews focus on the specific community, so it is allowed.
Ms. Ellison told the board and counsel that she did not have a conversation with anyone about the item and she did not realize labor counsel would be there.
“So I don’t know what input you want from me,” said Ms. Ellison.
SB chairperson Stasia Powers said the town deserves a conversation about the process. The SB released a letter last month explaining the CSC decision and said they would discuss it at a meeting after Town Meeting, which was held on 5/4.
Ms. Ellison said she was open to discussion, but she was not ready for a decision.
Ms. Powers said it was clear that Ms. Ellison was the appointing authority, but the board wanted to talk about the process.
Attorney Clifford reiterated that the TA is the appointing authority with the approval of the SB. He said they have to come up with a process that will “pass muster” with CSC.
SB member Andrew Saunders said if the town was not transparent, then no ballot question would pass. He also said it was important for the board to be involved in the decision so they are not going back and forth with Ms. Ellison choosing someone, and the board rejecting that person.
SB member Andrew Romano agreed that they needed to stress transparency.
The board discussed the timeline with Mr. Clifford, who said they already have the list and the assessment center scores. He said the only thing that needs to be done is the interviews.
He added, however, that to demonstrate there will be no bias from the past selection, that they create a screening committee that does not include anyone who was involved in the last process, including Ms. Ellison.
Ms. Ellison said she was the hiring authority, yet she was hearing them say she was being excluded from the process. She went through how it typically works with a screening committee only screening out those not qualified and she would interview two to three candidates. But the process being discussed was different.
“So you’re pulling me out of it,” she said.
Ms. Saunders said that was not his intention. He said he did not want candidates to “ping pong back and forth.”
He reiterated that she has the hiring authority.
Ms. Ellison said she needs to be part of the screening committee.
The board and Mr. Clifford discussed a variety of options, including recording the interviews. He said the concern is that if she chooses someone other than the first person on the list, “we really need to be able to justify it.”
Ms. Powers said they need to make sure the process is clear and unbiased.
Mr. Massina noted that the assessment center was conducted, but there are not a lot of interview questions in that process, such as what is the person’s five year plan, how they got to the position they are in, etc. He said those are the kinds of questions Ms. Ellison asked. He noted the “appellant” (Sgt. Botelho), asked that the town not be allowed to conduct additional interviews, but CSC rejected that.
“Nothing changes the fact that the Town Administrator decides with the approval of the Select Board,” said Mr. Massina, adding that the hiring will still have to go through the TA and SB.
He also said Human Resources Director Cameron Durant should not be involved because of a complaint about bias, that Mr. Massina said was simply not true. But he still recommended Mr. Durant not be involved.
The board will take up the matter at its next meeting.
The decision is available on the Civil Service Commission website at https://www.mass.gov/doc/botelho-matthew-v-town-of-fairhaven-5224/download
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