The Select Board on Sept. 29 heard results from an independent assessment center used to evaluate four finalists for the town's police chief job and agreed to proceed to public interviews. Consultant Russ (assessment consultant) told the board that assessors ran five exercises tailored to the town's size and needs, and that each candidate accumulated multiple scored observations to produce a written report for the appointing authority.
The assessment covered a critical incident exercise, a citizen complaint exercise, a staff meeting exercise, an employee complaint exercise and a rapid-fire panel of questions. Russ said each exercise was rated by three trained police chief assessors and that the goal was to measure knowledge, skills and abilities as well as fit for a small, working-town chief who may be a hands-on responder.
The nut graf: The assessment report gives the board a scored, comparative account of candidates' strengths and weaknesses; the board will use that report, candidates' résumés and the upcoming oral interviews to select a new chief.
Board members discussed logistics and fairness in scheduling. Russ recommended asking the same core questions of each candidate, allowing limited follow-ups, and scoring each candidate on the oral answers. The board agreed to hold all finalists at the meeting site and bring them individually for thirty-minute interviews to avoid cross-contamination of answers. The board tentatively scheduled interviews for the 2nd at 5:00 p.m. (half-hour slots) and discussed making a decision that night or pinning the decision for a follow-up meeting if needed.
The board debated practicalities: whether to require candidates to leave electronic devices in their cars, whether to hold interviews on a single night or over two nights if candidates cannot all be present, and whether to vote at the end of the interview night or defer the vote to the following regular meeting. Russ advised that boards handle the final decision several ways and left that procedural choice to the Select Board.
No formal appointment was made at the Sept. 29 meeting. The board directed staff to contact the four candidates to confirm availability for the tentative interview date and to publish the interview schedule. The transcript shows the assessment results were accepted and that the board prioritized treating candidates consistently while balancing the goal of completing the process quickly.
Ending: The Select Board will combine the assessment center report, written materials and scored oral interviews before making a final appointment; the town administrator will contact candidates with the tentative interview schedule.