RUMFORD – Selectmen on Tuesday agreed to wait until Oct. 20 to decide whether they will seek applicants for the position of police chief from outside the department.
That will give the department’s staff time to submit applications for the position.
The need for a new police chief arose when Chief Timothy Bourassa announced his retirement at a board meeting last month.
His last day is Dec. 23. He has been a part of the Rumford Police Department for more than 25 years, and has been in law enforcement for 29 years.
Selectman Jim Rinaldo had originally wanted to begin advertising for the position immediately.
“It would behoove us to get the best man for the job,” he said.
However, Town Manager Steve Eldridge said it was agreed that the local police staff would have the opportunity to apply for the position for two weeks after Bourassa submitted his resignation.
“Then we’d go outside, if necessary,” Eldridge said.
Local police staff have until Oct. 14 to submit an application. The board will then look at those applications at a closed session at the Oct. 20 selectmen’s meeting, then decide whether to interview any of them.
Selectman Greg Buccina suggested that the board hold off on replacing Bourassa until regional meetings are completed among the towns in the River Valley.
Although Eldridge said a goal was to regionalize services as much as possible, he doubted that the town was far enough along in the process to hold off on hiring a new chief.
If the board decides to hire from within, then some shifting in the department’s jobs would likely take place, resulting in the need to hire one person.
Lt. Stacy Carter has filled in for Bourassa when necessary. Eldridge said he would likely continue if the situation requires it.
In other matters, the board declined to appropriate funds for the recent cleanup along the banks of the Androscoggin River as requested by Len Greaney, a member of the Village Improvement Society in Rumford Center.
Greaney had asked the town to contribute $100 toward the $700 cost. The Village Improvement Society planned to pay the total figure when selectmen voted not to contribute when originally asked by Communities Getting Involved in July. The nonprofit group based in Turner organized a cleanup of the river’s banks for its entire 174-mile length and had asked towns along its banks to contribute to the effort.
Since the Rumford Center group had agreed to pay the total fee, Greaney said he had asked for and received contributions from area businesses so Rumford Center residents wouldn’t have to pay the full amount. He said he wanted the town to make a contribution to show that the cleanup was a collaborative effort.
Selectmen decided not to make a contribution because of budget problems, which have led to their asking some previously funded groups to return part of the money they received from the town.
After a half-hour discussion, Selectman Greg Buccina motioned to raise $100 for the cleanup effort.
But a minute later, board Chairman Jim Thibodeau reached into his pocket and placed a $100 bill on the table.
“I’m making a donation on behalf of the town,” he said.
Buccina then rescinded his motion.
Comments are no longer available on this story