ASHLAND - Selectmen last night approved promotions for two police officers who will take on leadership positions in the department and bid farewell to a veteran sergeant.
Selectmen backed Police Chief Scott Rohmer's recommendation to promote Sgt. Richard Briggs to lieutenant.
Ashland's Police Department has two lieutenants, who fall second to the chief in the force's leadership. Briggs will fill a position that has been vacant for some time, Town Manager John Petrin said.
"(Briggs) is one of the people who provide leadership in the department," Petrin said. "I think he's going to be excellent in this capacity."
However, Briggs will have to take a civil service exam next year if he wants to keep the job.
Ashland hires police officers through the civil service system and has to choose candidates from lists provided by the state. But no list is available for lieutenants until the next exam for that position is given next year, Petrin said.
Town officials say another lieutenant is needed sooner, so Briggs was given a provisional appointment. "He will assume the full responsibilities of a lieutenant in the department," Petrin said.
Rohmer also announced that Sgt. David Whitney is retiring after 20 years with Ashland's force, but he did not attend last night's meeting. "He's too modest," Rohmer said afterward.
With Whitney's retirement and Briggs' promotion, that leaves the town with two of five sergeant positions open. Selectmen agreed with Rohmer to appoint Officer Brendan Ellis to fill one of those openings.
Rohmer said Ellis came to Ashland as a dispatcher in 2003. He became an auxiliary and then part-time officer. He later became a state correction officer until 2004, the chief said.
In his time working in the prison system, Ellis was honored for preventing an inmate's suicide, Rohmer said. He also received the state police Medal of Valor in 2006 for helping two troopers arrest armed felons while he was off duty, Rohmer said. Ellis returned to Ashland in 2004.
"He has shown in many ways he is more than capable of accepting this position," Petrin said.
Briggs began his law enforcement career as a dispatcher in Mashpee in 1993, Rohmer said. He later worked for the Babson College and Northeastern University police departments, the chief said.
Briggs, a Medway resident, later worked for the Dover Police before coming to Ashland in 2002. He became patrol sergeant in 2004, Rohmer said. In other business, selectmen voted to give $5,000 each from the town's gift account to the Youth and Family Services Department and the Council on Aging. The funding comes from donations made to the town.
Selectmen did the same thing last fiscal year as both departments grappled with budget cuts. Youth and Family Services used the funding to hire part-time help to staff the food pantry, and the Council on Aging bolstered outreach programs for homebound seniors, Petrin said.
While all selectmen said both departments clearly need the money, they debated the sense of paying for recurring expenses like an employee's salary from an account that relies on the generosity of donors.
"I'm a little concerned about continuing to fund operating expenses from this account," Selectman Adam Shuster said. "I'm concerned with sustainability." But Petrin said this approach was a legitimate use of the gift account.
Selectman Paul Monaco said he understood Shuster's concern, but within a tight budget, he saw few other options.
"My opinion is there are human service needs here," Monaco said. "There are people in their homes not getting services they need." Selectmen Chairman Philip Jack said his board should find a better way to fund these needs in next year's budget.
Selectmen also agreed to hold a workshop for town officials to discuss the future of 30 acres the town is buying from Weston Nurseries. Invites will go out to representatives from town boards that manage the potential uses for the land: recreation, open space and affordable housing.
The Board of Selectmen then plans to appoint a committee to recommend the best use of the land. No date was set for the workshop.
(David Riley can be reached at 508-626-3919 or driley@cnc.com.)
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