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Select Board hears search committee update; committee says it has four police‑chief candidates
Summary
The Select Board received a report from the police‑chief search committee that it had narrowed the pool to about four candidates and planned to meet to reduce that number; members discussed whether the full board should meet finalists and how to balance committee recommendations with candidate privacy.
The Camden Select Board received an update and discussed the final phase of the police‑chief search, including who should meet finalists and how to protect candidate privacy.
Susan and other board members said they would value an opportunity to meet finalists if the search committee produced two clear candidates near the end of its process; Susan asked that the Select Board be part of the final selection step. Rick Bates, a search committee member, told the board the committee has "down to basically 4 candidates now," and said the panel planned to meet to narrow that list.
Bill, a staff member who read charter language during the meeting, told the board that while the town manager typically handles employment matters once a hire is made, the Select Board is the appointing authority for department heads such as the police chief under the town's annual-appointments provision. He cautioned that the board and the committee must respect a "bright line" between the Select Board’s appointing role and the manager’s supervisory authority after appointment.
Committee members and some board members discussed logistics: conducting finalist interviews in a controlled space (for example, the Tucker Room) to protect privacy and confidentiality, scheduling constraints, and the committee’s responsibility to provide a recommendation. Rick Bates described the committee’s multi-stage process—an initial standardized screening followed by longer, free‑flowing second interviews. He said the committee’s aim is to provide the Select Board with vetted recommendations, not to preempt the board’s final decision.
Why this matters: the discussion clarifies who has final appointing authority and how the board will balance transparency with candidate privacy as it finishes hiring for a critically important public-safety post. The board did not take a final vote on hiring during this meeting; members discussed process and timing for next steps.
