With 10 months left on his contract in Fitchburg, Police Chief Robert DeMoura may be headed for Somerville.
DeMoura confirmed Tuesday that he is among a group of finalists that is up for the chief's position of the Somerville Police Department.
"This is a tough decision, and I'm not even saying I have to make a decision right now. But I would tell anybody, I have to make the right decision for my family, myself and for the city," DeMoura said.
Michael Meehan, a spokesman for Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone, said city officials have yet to bring candidates forward for public interviews, and declined to say whether DeMoura is on that list.
"What we have right now is a short list of candidates who are still under consideration, and at some point we're going to announce the finalists who are going to be part of the interview process," Meehan said.
The public interview process with the candidates will play out in July, according to Meehan.
"I know he's up against a number of people, and I believe it's about half a dozen," Meehan said.
DeMoura said he learned Sunday night that he's a finalist, and said he believes he has a very good shot at getting the job, because of the work he's done to reorganize the Fitchburg Police Department over the last couple of years.
"It's very clear the department is much more operable than it was a few years ago," DeMoura said.
Police union President Christopher Garcia said DeMoura
Advertisement
has been up front about his candidacy with officers, telling them he may need to choose between staying in Fitchburg or taking the Somerville job.
"He has mentioned to me that it's going to be a tough decision, if it comes to that," Garcia said.
DeMoura was hired in April 2008. His three-year contract expires in April 2011. He currently earns an annual salary of $120,232. It is scheduled to increase to $126,429 when fiscal year 2011 begins on July 1.
Meehan said he doesn't know how much the new chief will earn in Somerville. Acting Chief Michael Cabral currently earns $165,634 a year.
"I feel the chief needs to look out for what's in the best interest of Bob DeMoura and his family," Garcia said.
Mayor Lisa Wong, who hired DeMoura, did not return phone calls seeking comment by press time last night, but some city councilors yesterday were surprised by the news of DeMoura's candidacy in Somerville.
"This was a little bit of a surprise," said Councilor-at-large Marcus DiNatale. "I guess you could say I'm just concerned about the fact that there's been a little bit of turnover in that position in the last decade."
DiNatale said he believes DeMoura has done a good job as chief, describing him as innovative, accessible and responsive.
Ward 3 City Councilor Joel Kaddy agreed there needs to be stability, with a string of four chiefs and acting chiefs working in the Police Department over the past decade, but said he wasn't surprised to learn that DeMoura is looking elsewhere.
"He's got no ties, he never moved here ... he really has no ties, no relatives, nothing to hold him here," Kaddy said. "He's a good guy. If that's what he wants to do, I wish him luck."
Councilor-at-large Thomas Conry said turnover is a fact of life, and he doesn't believe in holding people back.
"I think that people do move on. People are always looking for better jobs, better positions, and I told him I really wished him good luck in his endeavor, if in fact he makes it," Conry said.
Read more:
http://www.sentinelandenterprise.com/local/ci_15308036#ixzz0r3jlaYuC
![[rolleyes]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/042.gif "Roll Eyes [rolleyes]")
![[wink]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/002.gif "Wink [wink]")
![[angry]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/008.gif "Angry [angry]")
I'm hoping that another 7 weeks doesn't go by before he tries again. He DID give me a different number to call him back on so I'm really hoping that the firearms licensing line just isn't checked very often and he gave me the number to his direct line. UGH!
