WILTON – Officials defended their decision to hold an executive session to discuss the performance of the Wilton Police Department when they met Tuesday.

Resident Irving Faunce raised concerns about the legality of the session and the public’s right to know why the Police Department is being investigated. Faunce has been a resident of Wilton since July. His wife is a Wilton native.

The Board of Selectmen, after the executive session at their last meeting, voted to hire the Maine Chiefs of Police Association to evaluate the Police Department at a cost of up to $5,000. The funds will come from the town’s legal and contingency fund.

Town Manager Peter Nielsen said the board also asked that interim Police Chief Ed Leahy follow up on information the town received from the Franklin County district attorney’s office regarding the department. Assistant District Attorney James Andrews said he and Assistant District Attorney Andrew Robinson met with Nielsen about three weeks ago to discuss concerns they had about the department. The information had already been shared with former Police Chief James Parker and Leahy.

Andrews said the information given to Nielsen last month concerning the department was not driven by any citizen initiative or complaints. He said the concerns were raised after the district attorney’s office reviewed a variety of cases from the Wilton force. The district attorney’s office looks at all Franklin County police reports, Andrews said.

Faunce asked officials for clarification about the purpose of the closed meeting. He said the law is very clear that officials must be specific when discussing a reason for such meetings and anyone being discussed has the right to know that and to be present if they so choose. Faunce said he is a former municipal officer and he feels executive sessions should only be done on an occasional basis.

While Selectman Rodney Hall said the minutes of that meeting state only that officials held the executive session to discuss a personnel matter, the agenda stated that the purpose was “to discuss matters relating to the performance of the Wilton Police Department.”

Nielsen said he contacted the Maine Municipal Association for legal advice about how to best proceed with the issue. “We were careful both before, during and after the executive session not to name names.”

Faunce also raised the issue that part of citizens’ concerns about the department over the past several years has been in the way they have dealt with domestic violence cases. He pointed out that domestic violence is a serious issue that causes numerous deaths each year. “If we’re not dealing with it adequately it should be a public discussion,” Faunce said. Officials declined to comment about whether that was one of the issues brought to their attention.

Chairman Jeff Rowe pointed out that there are 4,000 residents in Wilton and no one else has approached selectmen with any concerns. “I guess I’d like to hear from other residents” regarding the executive session, Rowe said.

Resident Shannon Smith asked whether individual officers are being investigated and whether two separate investigations are taking place, one by the district attorney’s office and one by the Maine Chiefs of Police Association.

Nielsen said the decision to conduct a review of the department and the information received by the district attorney’s office are two separate issues. He said that whether the information should be considered a complaint will need to be clarified. If it is considered a complaint, that may make it public information.

The executive director of the Maine Chiefs of Police Association, Robert Schwartz, said all aspects of the workings of the department itself, including the administration, training, equipment and the facility, will be looked at. He said the association will also look over the department’s policies and procedures to make sure they are up to date. Schwartz said it is generally expected that such a review will take about 90 days to complete. A report of its findings will then be sent to the town.

Nielsen said the review may not begin until next month, although he will ask the police chiefs’ group to conduct it sooner if it can. Nielsen said that once the report is completed, the document will be public information.