PARIS — Things have come full circle for new Police Chief Hartley “Skip” Mowatt and his grandson, Jordan Davis.

When then-Police Chief David Verrier pinned and promoted Mowatt to sergeant, Jordan was there — albeit in diapers.

Jordan, now grown, did the honors this time, putting the pin on his grandfather as he was named police chief June 16. 

Last fall, selectmen began exploring contracting for policing services with the Oxford County Sheriff’s Office as a way to reduce the budget.

After former Police Chief Michael Madden left in September 2015, Jeff Lange was named interim police chief. He served until May, when Mowatt, Lange’s second in command, replaced him.

Two days after residents voted last week 2-1 to keep the Police Department, Interim Town Manager Sawin Millett promoted Mowatt. 

Even though the fiscal year 2017 budget was passed June 18, Mowatt said he’s already working on next year’s spending plan. He noted his handling of a much larger budget when he was in the military, serving during the Iraq War.

“That’s why I should be pretty good with budgets; I used to have a budget of $15 million,” he said of his time overseas. “I fed them, clothed them, got them ammunition. … The biggest thing … I learned in the military over money is you watch you pay for.”

Mowatt asked if he needed a patrol sergeant since that position — the one he held before becoming interim police chief in May — was cut from the current budget.

“I would like to have one, but right now the money is not there to have one,” he said. “That’s another $50,000, $60,000 … and I am not going to burden the people with that.”

Mowatt said he told residents at town meeting he would request a cruiser in the upcoming budget cycle to stay on schedule with the two-year vehicle replacement plan.

“If you don’t, you get yourself in a hole and you end up like we did two or three years ago … spending thousands of dollars on repairs,” he said Monday.

Also in the works is having all of the department’s vehicles marked as Paris Police Department.

“We will not have an unmarked car,” he promised. “…I believe in everything being marked so when one of my officers pulls into your driveway, you know it’s the police and not some stranger.”

Mowatt has another goal — to bring back walking patrols in town — and he plans on strolling down Market Square himself.

“That’s how everybody got to know me,” he said about his walking patrols of the past.

He hopes the other officers will follow suit.

Mowatt, after some part-time work with the department beginning in 1991, joined the police force full time in 1997 and has been with the department for roughly 25 years. During that time, he has served as a reserve officer, patrolman, DARE officer, detective and second in command, in addition to his aforementioned positions.

Mowatt noted he can relate to his officers because he has worked almost all of the shifts and positions possible within the department. He added he relies heavily on recently promoted Detective Sgt. Mike Dailey for the day-to-day operations of the department. He also wants the department to work as a team.

“It’s not ‘I,’ it’s ‘we’ as a team,” Mowatt said, adding that Dailey and he first discuss a matter and then bring it to the remaining officers and work with them. “That is the way I want to operate this Police Department. They all know I have the final say, whether they’re happy with the decision or not, they know at least they had input.”

And input is the reason over the weekend he spent his own money to purchase a table and chairs for his office, to give employees and residents a place to sit if they would like to come to his office to voice concerns. 

Mowatt has an open-door policy for all members of the community, he said.

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