Selectmen Debate Personnel File Access

Selectmen plan to decide Monday whether the three area police chiefs who will screen applicants for the position of lieutenant in the Holliston Police Department should have access to the candidates' personnel files.  

Police Chief John Moore discussed the issue with Selectmen for more than 40 minutes during their non-televised Friday morning meeting. 

Moore wants the chiefs to have the files available to them before they interview the four applicants. "It will give them a more complete picture," he said. "It's critical in law enforcement to know an officer's background." 

Board members, however, expressed concerns about consistency, since the panel that interviewed candidates for police chief during the process that resulted in Moore's hiring were not given access to those files.

"I think that process turned out pretty well," said Selectman Jay Leary. "To change it leads to questions going forward."

Some board members also felt it was important that the chiefs not be biased by what they see in the files, some of which date back more than 20 years. 

The hiring process will have the three chiefs--Richard Flannery of Hopkinton, Peter McGowan of Dover and Al Gordon of Westborough--interview the candidates. Their recommendation will be forwarded to the Board of Selectmen and to Moore, who will also give his own recommendation. Selectmen will make the final decision after interviewing candidates themselves. 

Moore said because the chiefs are law enforcement professionals, the files would have more meaning to them than to the civilians who were on the chief screening panel. In addition, he said, there would be less worry about information contained in the files being made public. He also noted that the town's labor counsel said the files could be released as long as releases were obtained from the candidates--all four have done so. 

"The chiefs are going to ask to see these files," Moore said. 

The personnel file discussion was a wide-ranging one. At one point, Leary asked Moore whether he knew of any instance when items were placed in a personnel file ahead of an impending promotion. He also asked the chief whether he would be upset if information in his file became public. Moore also talked about the importance of the lieutenant position, which serves as the number two in the department. "When I'm not there, he's me," Moore said. 

Town Administrator Paul LeBeau offered a compromise in which the chiefs would do the interviews first and then have access to the personnel files after. 

The board remained split on the topic after the discussion Friday and promised Moore a decision Monday.

The board actually meets twice Monday, with a more informal session at the Holliston Senior Center at 1 p.m. and a regular meeting in Town Hall at 7:30 p.m.