Taunton delegation urges temporary authority for police chief during move to new public safety facility

State lawmakers representing Taunton told the Joint Committee on Public Service on Tuesday that a home rule petition is needed to allow the city’s police chief to oversee a safe transition into a new public safety facility.

Senator Kelly Doonan, State Senator for the Third Bristol and Plymouth District, said she filed the petition to cover an operational transition while the city moves into a new building. “...with that transition period is the reason we filed this home rule petition, just so that Chief Walsh could help with that transition period of everybody moving into the new public safety facility, working with new equipment, new cameras, new 9 11 systems, just to be able to keep a smooth transition for the sake of public safety,” Doonan said.

The petition, she said, responds to a discrete operational need during a building move rather than a long-term policy change. Representative (name not specified in testimony) — speaking on behalf of the Taunton delegation and referencing the late Representative Carol Doherty, who filed the House version — told the committee the request is tied to a personnel timing issue: the current chief will reach mandatory retirement age in the near future. “I believe we have till October, of 20 25, or 2026 before our chief ages out,” the representative said, urging the committee to consider the petition to help ensure a stable handover.

Committee members asked no follow-up questions during the hearing, and the Taunton delegation said the city’s mayor’s office may also submit testimony later in the session. The proponents framed the petition narrowly as a short-term measure to preserve continuity while staff adapt to new equipment and procedures at the new facility.

No formal committee vote on the petition was recorded during the portion of the hearing captured in the transcript.