Wayland Select Board ratifies Lt. Patrick Swanick as new police chief
WAYLAND -- September 5, 2017, Wayland Select Board unanimously ratifies Lt. Patrick Swanick as new police chief. The 5-0 vote on Tuesday backed Town Administrator Nan Balmer's pick of the 27-year department veteran, pending a background check, physical and psychological exams and contract terms; Balmer said Swanick was the unanimous second choice of the internal review committee after a Belmont finalist did not advance. Swanick, who holds FBI National Academy training and has served a decade as second-in-command, endorsed adding Tasers to the department's less-lethal options, citing a 60 percent reduction in subject injuries and 20 to 30 percent in officer injuries, and said he was open to piloting restorative justice modeled on Lincoln's program. On internal politics he said officers will accept decisions "rooted in doing what's fair and what's right." The board also appointed Adam Gutzpizal to the Cultural Council and attorney James Grumbach to the Zoning Board of Appeals through June 30, 2018, and authorized Balmer to advance a stand-alone HR director job description ahead of John Senchyshyn's February retirement after 16 years.
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WAYLAND -- The Wayland Select Board on Tuesday unanimously ratified Town Administrator Nan Balmer's appointment of Lt. Patrick Swanick as the town's next police chief, pending a background check, physical and psychological examinations and final contract terms. The 5-0 vote followed a roughly 40-minute interview in which Swanick, a 27-year veteran of the Wayland Police Department, laid out his priorities on opioid response, community engagement and adding Tasers to the department's less-lethal tools.
Balmer told the board Swanick had been the unanimous second choice of the internal review committee behind a Belmont candidate identified in the meeting only as Mr. McIsaac, whose appointment did not move forward. She cited Swanick's bachelor's degree in law enforcement, master's in criminal justice administration, FBI National Academy training and decade as second-in-command, calling him "ethical, honest and thoughtful and highly principled."
Asked about department challenges, Swanick named the opioid epidemic, traffic complaints and scams targeting elderly residents. He pointed to the Citizen Police Academy he launched after returning from the FBI National Academy in 2004 as a model for community engagement. On internal cohesion, he said competition tends to flare at promotional time but that "if they see that your decisions are rooted in doing what's fair and what's right, that's about all we can do."
Swanick endorsed expanding the department's less-lethal options to include conducted-electrical-weapon Tasers, arguing they reduce injuries to subjects by 60 percent and to officers by 20 to 30 percent. He also said he was open to piloting a restorative justice program modeled on one run by the Lincoln Police Department, in which non-violent offenders meet directly with victims as an alternative to traditional court diversion. On in-car video cameras, which he helped procure, Swanick said review of complaints exonerates officers "nine times out of 10."
Earlier in the meeting, the board unanimously appointed Adam Gutzpizal to the Cultural Council and James Grumbach to the Zoning Board of Appeals, both for terms expiring June 30, 2018. Grumbach, a practicing attorney who served on the ZBA from 1999 to 2009, fills the seat vacated Sept. 1 by Eric Goldberg, who is leaving town. Grumbach said he expected to help with two pending Chapter 40B hearings.
The board also took up Balmer's proposed reorganization of the Town Administrator's office, prompted by the coming retirements of John Senchyshyn after 16 years and Mary Ann DeNapoli after 18. Balmer asked the board only to authorize her to bring a stand-alone human resources director job description to the Personnel Board, separating the HR function from the long-combined assistant town administrator role. She said she wanted more time to consult with the Collins Center, which is conducting a broader organizational review, before recommending how to structure an assistant town administrator position. Balmer said a search could begin after Personnel Board action on Sept. 11 and that she hoped to fill the HR job by mid-January, before Senchyshyn retires in February. The board signaled consensus to proceed.
Balmer separately announced she had appointed David Porter as executive assistant, a position within her authority, and that financial administrator Elizabeth Doucet could eventually be moved into the assistant town administrator role pending the Collins Center's recommendations. Selectman Doug Levine and other members urged caution about assigning a person to a job whose duties are not yet defined.
During public comment, Aqueduct Road resident Linda Segal pressed the board to make the 2017–2020 Wayland teachers contract publicly available before town meeting votes on a salary reserve transfer, saying the public has requested it but been told the attorneys have not yet produced a copy.
The board also discussed assignments for special town meeting articles, approved minutes from Aug. 21 and several executive session minutes, and tentatively scheduled a League of Women Voters issues forum for Nov. 8. The next regular Select Board meeting is Sept. 18.