13 December, 2013
The Police Chief Search Committee is pleased to announce that it continues to make significant progress toward its goal of finding a permanent Chief for Hopkinton. The Committee’s activities to date have included a careful review of the credentials of a pool of twenty (20) qualified applicants, the completion of a phone screen with applicants of interest, and the completion of an extensive face-to-face screening with a narrowed-down field of 10 candidates. As a result, the Committee has determined that 5 candidates will be invited back to continue in the process. This will consist of another interview with the Search Committee as well as participation in an assessment center to further determine the candidate's’ capacity to fill the role of Police Chief.
"We are very pleased with the Committee’s progress to date, and also pleased with the quality of candidates we have met," said Bob Levenson, Chair of the Committee. "From the outset, one of our goals was to make this a fair and well-planned process, designed to bring in a Chief who will be the best long-term fit for Hopkinton. Bob also stated that, “We have been leveraging the unique background of each Committee member to ensure an effective decision-making process is maintained. Committee members’ experience includes Law Enforcement, Municipal Government, Human Resources, the Military, Private Industry, and the Hopkinton community. This has enabled us to assess the candidates from a wide and varied perspective." Levenson said that Committee members were especially pleased that they were able to include the voice of the Hopkinton Police Department in the interviews. "In order to help inform the process we reached out to the Hopkinton PD to provide some input," said Levenson. "As a result, two of the questions asked of each candidate during the first screening session came directly from that input. We anticipate using that input to formulate additional questions for the second round interviews."
The Committee, which consists of Levenson (a 13-year Hopkinton resident, Chair of the Personnel Committee and member of the Marathon Committee), John Mosher (an 18-year Hopkinton resident and Chair of the Board of Selectmen). Norman Khumalo (Town Manager), Debbie Hilton-Creek (Director of Human Resources), and John Moore (Chief of Holliston Police), expects to recommend final candidates to the Board of Selectmen early next month.
