Since my first chief was a "strong chief" and our current chief is a "weak chief", I'll give a shot at defining what I know about it from a practical viewpoint. My first chief was a close personal friend, so he was the source of some of this practical info.
Strong Chief:
- Once appointed, in effect the appointment is for life. He has total control of the department and can only be removed for a very short list of egregious acts (e.g. felony convictions, etc.).
Weak Chief:
- Is appointed to a set term of office (per MGL can't be >3 years, but often times if the boss loves him, they ignore the law) and must get his contract renewed on a regular basis to keep the job. Reports to Selectmen or Town/City Manager/Administrator. He can be removed from his position for just about any reason that they can think of (just like in a regular job outside of gov't, aka "employee at will")! Generally it is easy to spot a Weak Chief due to propensity in having a brown nose, frequently seen following 10 steps behind their boss at any public meeting/function. and they are usually "unavailable" as they are always either on the phone with their boss or sitting in their boss' office meeting to discuss every little detail of running the department.
Needless to say, towns/cities really hate having a Strong Chief, as they lose the ability to micro-manage that person and department.
Strong Chief:
- Once appointed, in effect the appointment is for life. He has total control of the department and can only be removed for a very short list of egregious acts (e.g. felony convictions, etc.).
Weak Chief:
- Is appointed to a set term of office (per MGL can't be >3 years, but often times if the boss loves him, they ignore the law) and must get his contract renewed on a regular basis to keep the job. Reports to Selectmen or Town/City Manager/Administrator. He can be removed from his position for just about any reason that they can think of (just like in a regular job outside of gov't, aka "employee at will")! Generally it is easy to spot a Weak Chief due to propensity in having a brown nose, frequently seen following 10 steps behind their boss at any public meeting/function. and they are usually "unavailable" as they are always either on the phone with their boss or sitting in their boss' office meeting to discuss every little detail of running the department.
Needless to say, towns/cities really hate having a Strong Chief, as they lose the ability to micro-manage that person and department.
