GROVELAND — With police Chief Ronald Weeks ready to retire after a decade leading the force, selectmen named Sgt. Robert Kirmelewicz as acting chief last night.
Kirmelewicz is also in the running for the permanent job.
Weeks has been on the Police Department for about 30 years. He has notified selectmen he will retire Friday, so they decided Groveland needs an acting chief immediately as they review applications for the next permanent chief.
Last night, Selectman William Darke said he would prefer to name a chief from among officers on the Groveland force.
"My preference would be if we had a qualified house applicant," Darke said.
Kirmelewicz is the only applicant from the Groveland force, selectmen said. He has been with the department since 1989.
Town Finance Director Greg Labrecque suggested making Kirmelewicz acting chief when Weeks' retirement becomes official Friday.
Selectmen said they have not finished reviewing applications and have not started interviews yet.
As acting chief, Kirmelewicz's salary will not increase. This is due to a tight budget, and the fact it will be considered a trial period, selectmen said. If he ends up being chosen for the permanent position, his salary will increase, they said.
"It's a $100,000 position," Darke said of the chief's post.
Darke and Selectman Donald Greaney will meet with Kirmelewicz this week to work out what being acting chief will entail. They need to determine his responsibilities, such as whether he will still work regular patrol shifts, what responsibilities of his current position would he maintain, and what would be passed on to other officers.
Selectmen said they want to use the change in chiefs as an opportunity to fix problems they have with the Police Department, including the use of vacation time.
"We'll try to meet with Bob and talk with him right away," Darke said of Kirmelewicz.
"Change in the department is a good time to change the way things are run," Greaney said. "We try to have two cars on all shifts, and we like at least one of those cars to be a full-time patrolman."
But when too many officers take vacations about the same time, that becomes impossible, selectmen said.
Greaney said that for two years in a row with the fiscal year close to ending, most of the officers have at least two weeks of vacation time left.
Selectmen also want to review the department's vehicles. The department receives at least one new car each year, and selectmen said the force must determine which older vehicle to get rid of to save money on insurance.
Now that they have the acting chief in place, selectmen said they can take time choosing the permanent chief.
"We'll go through the resumes and decide which ones we want to speak to," Darke said of the applicants. "As long as we have someone in place (as acting chief), we can take time."
