Confirmation of Appointments and Personnel Matters Committee - Regular Meeting

Welcome, everyone. I call this meeting of the city council's committee on confirmation of appointments and personnel matters to order. It is 06:31PM on Monday, October 6, pursuant to chapter two of the acts of 2025. This meeting is being conducted via remote participation, and we will post an audio video recording and comprehensive record of these proceedings as soon as possible after the meeting on the city Of Somerville website and local cable access government channels. Will the clerk please call the roll to establish quorum?

Yep. This is roll call. Councilor Mbaugh, councilor Klingen?

Present.

Thank you. Councilor Strezo? Councilor McLaughlin?

Here.

Chair, you and Campan?

Here.

Alright. With that, we do have free presents. We have quorum.

Excellent. Thank you. Councilor Imbaugh will be joining us, and I heard from councilor Strezo she can't be here tonight. So let's take up, agenda item number one. Please read that, clerk.

And one approval of the minutes of, the confirmation appointments and personnel matters committee meeting of 06/04/2025.

Excellent. We'll lay that on the table for approval when we take up our adjournment vote. And then tonight, colleagues, we're gonna go through the agenda in order. So we will start right off with number two on the agenda, please.

Item two referred for recommendation requesting confirmation of the appointment of Olivia Mobayed, the zoning board of appeals.

Excellent. Thank you so much for being here. I see, our legislative liaison, Kimberly Hutter, is here. Is there someone to introduce the candidate?

Yes. Through the chair, we have Kit Lester here to, introduce the candidate. I'll pass it over to her now.

Excellent. Thank you. Hi.

Through the chair, my name is Kit Lester, and I'm the zoning board of appeals coordinator and a planner for the planning preservation zoning division. Thanks for having us this evening. The zoning board is seeking a full time member to fill one position, and Olivia's in resume Olivia's resume and interests were really exciting. Her past experiences as a project manager and transportation planner for the MBTA and her educational experiences with a master's in earning planner urban planning make her a really great candidate for the zoning board. She definitely has an understanding of planning and design practices as well as public meeting and municipal decision making processes.

And we just think Olivia would be a really valuable addition to the current board, and I'm happy to provide any, answers to questions if if anything regarding the ZBA if you need it.

Thank you so much. Miss Mobayed, please correct me if I'm saying anybody's name wrong tonight. Do you wanna say a few words?

Absolutely. Sure. Thank you, chair. My name is Olivia Mobayed. I am a Somerville resident of about four and a half years.

As Kit mentioned, I have my master's in city planning from the University of Pennsylvania, and I've been a public servant in a few different capacities over the past seven and a half years. I'm currently a senior project manager at the MBTA focusing on infrastructure planning. I've I've worked at the MBTA for about four and a half years now. And as soon as I got the job, I knew that I wanted to live in Summerville, so moved here as soon as I possibly could. I'm a renter, but I have no plans on leaving.

I recently moved within the city with a intention to stay as long as I possibly can. I was first kind of involved in city of Summerville as a member of the participatory budgeting board last winter where I got a taste of, you know, being part of a Somerville board or committee and found the experience really rewarding and was looking for additional opportunities to be able to use my experience and expertise, to better, the city. I'm looking forward to any additional questions you have. I will just mention that, something I'm very aware of and, I think mentioned pretty clearly in my application and cover letter is, you know, I I I'm aware that there might be some slight opportunities for any kind of discrepancy in terms of, you know, conflicts of interest with my full time job at the T. I'm happy to talk about that in more detail, but I'll just mention now that, you know, I take the state conflict of interest training every two years.

I'm very aware of, how these things work and and know when to ask questions and to air on the side of caution. So I'm hoping that that is, not a concern when you consider my application.

Excellent. Well, thank you for being here tonight, and thank you so much for for stepping up for this role. So I remember when the bus network redesign project was happening, there was a lot of concern, particularly on the West Side Of Summerville. And I think my memory is that Summerville, like, set the record for how many public comments we submitted. Maybe we could give a first or second. So I guess you saw that and said, I want more of this experience. So thank you for stepping up. So, actually, on that, I I have a question, and then I'm happy to open it up to my colleagues. How do you think about what is your general view around public comment? You know, it can be kind of you you're dealing, of course, with the law.

But on a lot of the decisions, there's a public hearing. You you hear from neighbors conflicting views. What what is your kind of general approach to to public comment? How do you think about that?

That's a good question. Thank you, counselor. I think public comment is incredibly important in, you know, understanding the context in which decisions are being made. As a planning professional, a lot of the time, we need to remind ourselves that the people we might be hearing from are not directly representative of everyone in the community, whether that be, you know, someone putting their child to bed or working a second shift and being unable to to take part in something like a public meeting. But I think it's incredibly important to take the the public comments into consideration when considering things like a hardship variance and understanding, you know, what the impact to the public good might be in granting one.

Thank you for that. That that's, I think, exactly kind of what I was hoping to hear is the the importance of the lived experience of people in this community and also being very mindful of the people who are not in the room. So thank you for that. I'm, you know, extremely impressed by your resume. I'm looking forward to supporting the confirmation. Colleagues, do you have any questions? Councilor McLaughlin.

Thank you, mister chair, through you. Similar question as far as public comment goes. You know? The zoning board, you're gonna get a lot of neighbors, both for and against a project that may impact their life directly. I'm curious, like, how will you weigh the, desires of community members versus what you may perceive to be the needs of the community? Say someone's, a lot of people are against a project that, they don't like it, but you may see some value in it or the other way around. You don't see value in a project that other people want. How will you go what's your thought process for that, I guess, is my question?

Each own, exercise modality. Oh, this is Karen.

Thank you for your question. So, again, you know, I think it's important to balance all needs and and just take a step back and understand the needs of the entire community as a whole. I hope that as Somerville resident for a long time and someone who understands a lot of how the city works, I I, you know, can represent a a portion of, that component, but I think understanding, the views from everyone is really important. You know, the reason why this is a board and why there are multiple folks on it means that we have the opportunity to have thoughtful discussion and discuss things together. So I don't necessarily think that, you know, my my, preconceived notions of the benefits of a project should be the reason, you know, I vote yes or no.

It it requires from hearing from folks and discussing it and and understanding. But, you know, I I would say that, overall, I my goal is to, like, take the words of the zoning ordinance as as seriously as I can and think, you know, truthfully about, like, the the the substantial hardships of the applicant versus the impact on the greater good.

Large Thank you. Coming in.

Thank you, counselor. Councilor Klingon?

Yeah. Nothing for me, mister chair. Just, you know, as noted, I think you bring some unique experience to the role, but also understanding what the role is being a member of the ZBA. But definitely with the unique sort of perspective on transportation needs and and zoning needs and transit areas and so on. So I'm happy to support you this evening, and thanks for stepping up.

Thank you. With that, the chair moves to recommend approval.

Second.

Don't need a second. Thank you.

Yep. I appreciate the second, but, roll call on recommending approval for item number two, requesting confirmation of the appointment of Olivia to the zoning board of appeals. So that's what we're looking for. We want to engage Yes. And be part of Kenser Stresso. Part of our Kenser McLaughlin.

So Yes.

All inclusive. Cherry Young Camping.

Yes.

Alright. With that, that is three votes in favor.

Excellent. Thank you very much for being here tonight, and looking forward to, seeing the new zoning board in action. Thanks for stepping up for this role.

Thank you.

Next item, please.

Alright. Item number two, referred recommendation requesting confirmation of the appointment of Corley Cooper to the planning board.

Excellent. Is this Kit Luster again? Welcome

This is actually Steve Carey, planner in PPZ. I'm the coordinator for the planning board. Coralie was the AAC's recommended candidate after interviewing. We think she'd be great. This is for the alternate seat on the planning board.

She has a graduate degree in city planning from MIT and years of planning experience in air pollution, climate planning, regulation development, and stakeholder outreach and engagement, most recently as the deputy director for the Northeast States for coordinated air use management, a coalition of state air agencies that promotes regional cooperation and action, and before that as a sustainability program lead with the Volpe Center. She served as chair of the CLE energy future committee in Arlington when she was a resident there and has been a member of the committee on transportation energy for the transportation research board. We think she'd bring a regional perspective to the planning board as well as expertise on transportation and climate policy, and how that can manifest at municipal and site scale. So, with that, Coraline, if there's anything, you'd like to say.

Yeah. Steve, thank you for the introduction, and, counselors, thank you for the opportunity to be here tonight and talk to you. I'd just like to add that I've I've lived in Summerville for fifteen years, and I I'm very much looking forward to and hope that I get a chance to participate on the the planning board to, you know, essentially help the help the city at this time be as efficient as possible in the planning processes and, also to assist in implementing summer vision 2040, which I think is a tremendous plan with many really great facets to it. So I also lived in Arlington for for eight years. Steve mentioned that I was on the, clean energy future committee.

So I've had experience planning at the municipal level, with with states and my work at, the Northeast State for Coordinated Air Lease Management at the at the federal level as well, and then regionally working with other states, their air pollution programs, and their local districts as well. So, again, thank you for the opportunity. I look forward to your questions.

Excellent. Thank you so much for for being here tonight, for stepping up. You know, I am reminded when I joined the council was 2018, same time as councilor Klingon. And on this committee in particular, we were really kind of pounding the table that we wanted to see candidates on the planning board, the zoning board that have, like, qualifications, professional call. And it is that message has gotten through because it is just totally extremely impressive caliber of candidates here tonight and that we've seen coming onto the planning board and zoning board for for a long time now. And you are no exception. So I guess I'll ask the same question I just did. How do you think about public comment? How does it kind of influence your decisions? What do you see as the role of public comment?

And, oh, and let the record show that counselor Imbaugh has joined us. Thank you for being here, counselor.

Yeah. I mean, public comment is absolutely critical in the in the formation of policies and I think also in kind of the effective implementation of policies. So through the comment period, you get a diversity of opinions. And, you know, as Olivia pointed out, sometimes you you don't you don't have the diversity that you would, like and and and conducting outreach to try and boost participation and and, get more comments, I think, is is really important. Because if you go into implementing a policy and you haven't gotten enough, input from the community, you know, a, you can run into issues, because you you haven't heard enough.

You haven't heard, you know, the the the the perspective of the people who are going to to live with the policy, and you haven't heard potential issues that might come up. And, so you haven't gathered enough information. So getting that, you know, that diversity of opinion is especially important. And I would I would just, you know, support the comment that, trying to increase participation by offering, you know, online forums or after work or maybe it's a Saturday or, you know, diff different approaches to to get those public comments in is is really essential. And then, in in my experience, my work experience, we often had to address every single public comment even in, you know, federal rule making where there could be, you know, thousands and thousands of comments.

And I I'd say even though that, you know, that process is is long and takes time, it really makes the regulators or whoever is is going to be working on this policy or implementing it or putting in place think a lot about the policy. So and I it's so that's an important process.

Thank you for that. I I love that answer. If it's alright with my colleagues, have I have an additional question, and this is kind of, I don't know, maybe open ended. But what do you think how do you think about questions about what we call density? Right? There's we this is probably one of the things we hear most about as policymakers here on the city council is around the density of new development. And you get really strong opinions, you know, anytime that there's a project that is that some people consider too dense or other people consider kind of wasted opportunity. It's a very general broad question, but kind of can you just walk us through how you think about that question in the context of Somerville?

Yeah. I well, I think that, you know, changes in density again, going back to the public input process, it's it's very important to to get community input on any changes because, again, you want the policy to to work once it's implemented. And so I I would say that, in general, I think that, you know, increasing density is a is a great way can be a great tool to increase housing. And it can be done, you know, intelligently, like, through inclusionary housing, for example, inclusionary zoning so that, you know, could be, you know, density bonus in certain areas to add more housing or more affordable housing. So, I mean, I I think there are a number of tools in the toolbox to think about density.

You can kind of put it in certain places, like new developments that are you know, have a lot of height so that you get more affordable housing. So that that's kind of one of the tools to have it in in certain places. And and so I I think that you just need to, you know, think about how you're going to add that density. But in in general, I think it can be a really terrific tool to, improve housing when at a time when we really need it. So

Thank you for that. I appreciate you. Colleagues? Councilor Mbaugh?

Thank you, chair. Thank you. Should I call you director is that the what is the name? Okay. Doctor Cooper. Is that the name? Corley.

Corley. Yeah.

No. So thank you for being here. I think you're extremely qualified. I guess, also, like, just around the lines of curiosity, like, I think you probably touched on it, you know, a little bit when you were answering the good councilor of the chair. So how do you see some of these planning policies evolving you know, to support equitable transit oriented development and climate resilience? You know? Can you just share some light about that?

Well, I think that, you know, with a green line extension opening, that's just a tremendous kind of advance for the city, and that adding adding those stations has been a huge just huge advance for the city. So I think that, you know, implementing the some of the policies that are already on the books, like, you know, the the bike lane plan, the a you know, 80 plus miles of bike lanes in that you know, those kinds of plans that are already on the books will really help kind of knit together the transit oriented development with alternative modes and increase the opportunity for residents to travel without a car. So give give residents more opportunities. And then, and I think, you know, there's I've been listening in on, you know, kind of the discussions around some of the bus routes like eighty eight and ninety, what happens to those routes, make sure that you know, we need to make sure that East Somerville has service, and yet, some of those routes may need to change. So I think that, you know, continuing to be engaged in any planning around bus routes and making sure that Somerville has, the access it needs and access to, buses and then alternative transit, Again, making making the city more walkable, so making, you know, crossing safer as as has been, been done in many places already, but kind of continuing the effort to make walking, biking safer, which increases access to transit and, you know, reducing the the the danger in areas where crossings make it, pedestrians and bice bicyclists especially vulnerable.

I think you do a stellar job. I'll spare you the climate resiliency quest part, but thank you. Thank you, chair Monset.

Thank you, councilor. Councilor McLaughlin.

I guess, chair, I have a question that, I guess, a few years ago would be strange, but now well, now it's strange, and a few years ago wouldn't be. I'm always, interested in the planning board's response to affordable housing and, the the role of housing, say, beyond the expectation of what we currently have. How would you look at a, I guess, in general, a project that comes before the planning board and maybe gives more affordable housing than is required. How would you what would your thought process be when looking at a project like that? Sorry if I'm not making sense, but I basically wanna see, planning board members be supportive of affordable housing.

Yeah. I mean, I I think that that would be a positive, as long as, you know, there wasn't some kind of trade off, some negative trade off that had to be weighed. Or if if there was, then that would need to be weighed. But, you know, more more affordable housing in a development than is required, that would be a definite plus.

That's all I have. Thank you.

Thank you, counselor. Additional questions, colleagues? Excellent. With that, the chair recommends approval.

Right. On item number three, requesting confirmation of the appointment of Corley Cooper to the planning board. Yes,

please.

Yes. Councilor Strazo. Councilor McLaughlin.

Yes.

Chair Yuan Kempen.

Yes.

With that, does all four votes in favor of, recommending approval.

Excellent. Thank you so much, miss Cooper, for being here tonight, and thank you for stepping up for this role. Thank you, counselors. Alright, colleagues. So we have a number of promotions within the police department now, and I wanted to start with a procedural suggestion.

So this is obviously up to the will of the committee. So since I've been sharing this committee, we have a process when we're dealing with promotions within the department for people who have already been serving and are now being promoted to a new role where for each candidate, we go into executive session so that, counselors can review if there have been any complaints against their officer or candidate. The outcomes of those can hear, you know, responses. I think that that's been a, for me, a very important practice. It I I also have been made aware recently that an alternative way to do it is that outside the context of a meeting, counselors, including myself as chair, can meet with the chief, review, ask questions about these issues to see if there's any information that might, you know, affect my vote.

And I can say I have done that for all the candidates that are on the agenda tonight. I've reviewed these candidates with the chief. And I, as one counselor, am totally comfortable not going into executive session for these candidates because I've had all my questions answered. And it is a 100% up to the will of the committee. We're we're it's in order to to move to go into executive session if there are counselors who would like to ask those questions. It is also totally fine for us to have our meeting in exec in open session. And, you know, going forward, if other counselors wish to have these conversations as well, they can do it outside of the meeting. And this is really just a a kind of time saving approach. So I'm curious to hear if colleagues are alright with that. Councilor Klingen.

Thank you, mister chair. Three. You know, so I think really what matters here is, you know, is who the chair is. And in this case, I I trust that you vetted these candidates with the questions you asked offline regarding any any actions that were taken. So I'm I am okay with with not entering executive session for these purposes. Thank

you, councilor. Councilor Mbaugh?

Thank you, chair. What matters to me is not because of the chair. You know? But I think for me, it's for the first time, I really, like, recognize almost all these candidates. So these are people that I have actually interacted with, really thrilled, you know, to see them come forward. So that is on my own merit that I actually recognize it. You know, no disrespect to the chair, but I'm not moving, you know, my decision based on the chair. So thank you.

Excellent. Well, thank you, colleagues. And I just want also, you know, colleagues in the public to know that counselor the the the reason that we go into executive session to discuss any of this is because we're in a public meeting here. Right? These are being recorded, and it is illegal under Massachusetts general law to talk about, you know, a a personal record in a public meeting. But these can be reviewed in a outside of a meeting with with the chief, with the solicitor. So if if going forward, colleagues do have questions, absolutely possible to do that. And, of course, the majority of the council can always vote to go into executive session if they wish. So with that, let's take up agenda item number four, please.

Alright. Item number four, ID number 25Dash1488, referred for recommendation, requesting confirmation of the promotion of Richard Labbe junior to the position of police deputy chief.

Excellent. And I see chief Benford is here. Are you gonna be introducing the candidates tonight?

Yes, sir, mister chair.

Excellent. Chief, please take it away.

Thank you very much. And, again, thank you for your leadership, and the opportunity to, work with you on streamlining the process, but also speaking about the candidates, and sharing information, that I hope, ultimately will be helpful in, helping them realize their dreams and next steps professionally, but as well as in service to the city. I'd like to also recognize the other committee members out here this evening. Greatly appreciate your time. Cumulatively, all of the candidates tonight represent over a hundred and thirty seven years of combined service to the city Of Summerville and the Summerville Police Department.

In the case of deputy Lavey, he is someone who is serving in in in in in acting capacity now to help the department move forward. I greatly appreciate him stepping up in that space. I'd also like to recognize his continued service over the years in rising through the ranks. I haven't served at every rank, most recently commanding the the criminal investigations division. Deputy Lavey is a true partner in the work that we are doing.

He has shown an openness and willingness to change as well as look forward thinking into the twenty first century around ways in which we can be innovative with the policing that we do in a way that represents the true value set and tolerance of, this community. With that said, mister chair, I do, present, Richard Levy, as a candidate, for deputy chief.

Thank you, chief Benford. Deputy Lavey, welcome. Thank you for being here tonight.

Thank you. Thank you for having me, chair, and distinguished consulars. I'm happy to be here. Excited for this opportunity.

Colleagues, the floor is open for questions. Alright. I have one. Oh, councilor Mbaugh, please. Go ahead.

Thank you. So is it should I say captain Levy now, or, like, what is, like, the the the the appellation? Is it captain Levy or deputy chief Levy?

I'm the I guess I'm the interim deputy chief. I was sworn in August 18, and I've been, performing those duties since August.

Amazing. Okay. Thank you, interim deputy chief. I guess, you know, again, you're a non person in the community. I've known us a senior around. I guess one thing, you know, with the role that you're you're, you know, getting into, you know, just big picture question. It's nothing you know, it's not like a most of the question I'll be asking tonight is just, you know, to broaden my understanding about, you know, what I should envision in the coming years. So what is your vision for fostering trust and transparency between, you know, the police department and and some of these diverse community?

So we've been really working hard in the police department to to build on police legitimacy and creating trust. Chief benefit through his leadership is really, he's a real forward thinker. I'm happy to be part of his team. We're gonna try and build out to the extent we can our community policing unit. We've as you know, we've had a a number of activities that we've engaged in, including the Junior Police Academy, which was a a great success.

We were involved at the end of last school season with doing a tutorial in multiple different languages for the kids at the Winter Hill Innovation School at the Edgely. We spoke with eighth graders in three different languages to try and reach out with them. And this was at the request of the school principal. So, you know, we will be excited to get back into that space again to create trust. We're we're always up against it, as you know.

It is as difficult as it is, you know, we we we work hard to earn people's trust, not violate it. And, you know, all the things you see going on with ICE, all it takes is them to come in and do something and, you know, it kinda hurts us a little bit, turns the clock back on us. It's very frustrating for us. More people are scared, especially members of our minority communities that are not maybe not here on legal status. It creates a lot of distrust.

We're we're working hard through things like national night out, and we're gonna be building up on our community policing efforts in going forward as next next bid cycle. And I'm hoping we can make some good inroads, building trust with the community. That seems like, you know, you you take two steps forward and one step back, but we're always come up with new ideas, forward thinking, positive messaging. We have a very young department now. It was older some years ago when I came up to lieutenant and captain.

We have a very young department, and diversifying those ranks and diversifying our supervisory ranks the way to connect with people. People like to see people in charge who look like them, talk like them, have, you know, have the same culture. These all work towards building trust with the community.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, for that response. And to your chair, just one last one. Is that okay?

Please.

Okay. Thank you. So, yeah. No. I think everything you've said, especially, like, the young, the it's a pretty young department. Like, I'm I continue to be impressed with the with the young officer I see, you know, honestly, like so and on that note, like, you know, as an as a deputy chief, how would you support officers' awareness and accountability while balancing the city's commitment to community based policing?

Well, if you read my resume, one of the my core competencies is the area of authentic leadership. And, really, what that is saying that if a leader is saying that they're authentic leader, they're saying they're self aware. You have to understand both your own strengths and weaknesses, your values, and and and, you know, you you have to be transparent. You have to treat people fairly. You have to provide accountability without hitting people over the head.

People want to be treated fairly. I've never asked anybody to do anything I wouldn't do myself in this department. I I don't, you know, I don't think you'll find anyone to say anything negative in that space about my my standards, on being ethical and building relationships, not just with our offices, with people in the community, business owners, stakeholders, other stakeholders, our our nonprofit folks, like Respond and MAPS. Building relationships and being authentic, this helps with community policing. It enhances it.

Officer well-being, chief Danton has put that forward. One of his first questions chief Benforth asked always, no matter what conversation we're having, is, how how are you doing? How is your family doing? It it's it's truly authentic. And, you know, I I think we can create accountability.

We have created accountability using progressive discipline. And, you know, towards that end, we're better service providers, and people wanna work here. It's been a difficult task recruiting and retaining people in in this career field nationally. And, you know, some of those are very progressive community, and our number one asset here is our staff and our personnel. They're our biggest asset. That's how we make inroads with the community. And my views are the thousand foot view. It's very different being a deputy chief even compared to a captain. The the the duties are very different. I'm up for the challenge.

And, you know, I'd like to move some help some of them move forward with chief benefits of leadership and guide us in the right path.

Thank you. And just, through your chair, I just wanna make a commentary here that, you know, interim deputy chief Levy I've been in The US in in aggregate, like, about fifteen years. So one of my early jobs, you know, my supervisor will ask me, well, how are you how are you feeling? How are you doing? But they were not interested.

They got by the time I tried to explain how I was doing, they almost get offended that that's somebody's job. Somebody's being paid to actually know how I'm actually really doing. So I'm not gonna buy that statement that the chief Benfoss say, how are you doing? How are doing? There's a standard response for that question, so you have to revise how you ask that question because nobody has the patience to just get to actually listen to you talk about how you're doing.

Fact, that's the way I learn about the system. So maybe it's changing in your department, but I just want to give you like my take about like how I tried to explain how I was doing and my supervisor got really it it means that he has another problem to deal with because he was like running towards a meeting and then I asked to get stuck with me trying to figure out like how to, you know, like deal with my own mental health. So just just as a caveat, but I'll be supporting you. Thank you for coming forward. I'm excited about your candidacy.

Thank you, council member. Appreciate it.

Thank you,

Other questions, colleagues? I guess I would just ask you. You've been in this role as acting for a while now. You've also had a very long career in the department. Can you just tell us some of the kind of specific challenges that you see in this role compared to all the other roles that you've played here?

Recruitment and retention. That's that's a big concern for us. And not just us, every department in in this area, this urban setting, and how we're gonna build out, become fully staffed so that we can get community policing off the ground so we can make inroads with that relationship building and that trust factor. That that's that's what I see as our as our biggest thing to overcome. But we've been working hard at it.

We've using an alternative hiring process now in addition to the standard civil service practice. So we're really attractive now to younger officers that maybe were already trained to work for a campus police department. They're highly educated. They're young. They bring progressive values. They have a different way of thinking. Gen z is a very different police officer than when I first came on here and what was here. All they want to do was work, work, work. Gen z, to their credit, they have found ways to find better balance with life. They're not concerned with making $250,000.

They're they they want job satisfaction, and they find it in different ways than Gen X did. So working with Gen Z, we're basically preparing the future of policing in some of them across the land. And I think that's the biggest thing we have to look at in is preparing these kids to be the new leaders. So it's a young person's job for sure.

Thank you for that. I appreciate it. Seeing no further questions, I'll move to recommend approval.

Great. I'm recommending approval of item number four, ID twenty five dash one four eight eight, requesting confirmation to the promotion of Richard Levy junior to the position of police deputy chief. Councilor Mbaugh?

Yes.

Councilor Klingen?

Yes. Yes.

Councilor Strazo? Councilor McLaughlin?

Yes.

Kerry Yoon Kampen?

Yes.

Alright. With that, that is everyone in favor.

Excellent. Thank you, deputy. Thank you for being here tonight.

Thank you. I appreciate the opportunity.

Excellent. Next item, please.

Alright. Item number five, ID number 25Dash1487. Mayor's request referred for recommendation requesting confirmation of the promotion of Cassandra Campers to the position of police sergeant.

Excellent. Chief Hunter.

Again, thank you, mister chair. I greatly appreciate the opportunity. It gives me great pleasure to recommend Cassandra Campus for promotion to the rank of sergeant. Officer Campus brings twelve years of experience to the department. As the deputy deputy mentioned, you know, part of the role and the job that we have is to mentor our future professionals and our future leaders.

And in SPD, one of the areas that we're extremely deficient in is in women supervisors, women in leadership. It has been a priority to try and create pathways for leadership with with women. When we talk about deck diversity, equity, and inclusion, it's not just on a racial level. It's on agenda level in a multitude of different levels to ensure that we could bring about greater equity. Certainly, officer Campus has earned the opportunity to present and compete for this position before this committee, but it is truly a pleasure.

Officer, Campus is clearly a leader, amongst her colleagues, and I believe that, serving in the capacity of the sergeant is going to help, position this department, for the future as we welcome her as a partner and certainly use her as a steward and advocate as we look to promote, as well as encourage additional females to join the ranks of the SPD, but also those that are here take the supervisory, exam so that we can help, realize greater balance and equity, at the supervisory ranks, for females. With that said, mister Chi, I'd like to, formally present, candidate, Cassandra Campers, for the rank of sergeant.

Thank you, chief. Officer Campers, thank you for being here. Did you wanna say anything before we open it up?

Oh, thank you for having me. Good evening. Pleasure to be here.

Good evening. Colleagues, questions?

Councilor Mbaugh. Thank you. Thank you, chair. I like I think officer Compass is ready to take that leadership. Like, that's like a like a whole of the academic in the academy. Like, the the the salutations. You know? It looks pretty supervisory like. So, mister Campos, I'm really excited to see, you know, your candidacy forward. I think I don't I'm not sure, you know, if I've personally interacted with you, but I'm really impressed about your background. I guess, what leadership qualities, you know, do you believe are most essential for a modern surgeon in community like Somerville?

Yeah. I think it's really important to have an open line of communication. I think communication is key. And then also just be approachable. I think I have that, and I think it's I think I'm the type of person that my colleagues feel comfortable going to and speaking with. So I think that that's the most important, but also communication with the with the public, which is of the utmost important importance with police, especially in this day and age.

Thank you. You know, I I I have one question for for my sergeants and two questions for the superior officer, so I appreciate that response. Thank you, chair, and I will be supporting you.

Thank you, sir.

Excellent. I'll ask the the same question. I guess I'll probably just be asking everybody. What do you see as particular challenges in this role?

Yeah. I think it's a it's a shift in mindset. Right now, I'm a member of a team. I'm still gonna be a member of that team. It's just I'm playing a different role. I'm gonna be the leader. I'm gonna be the person that people turn to when they need advisement, when they need help, when they need guidance. So I think just shifting to that mindset is definitely challenging. I'm up to that challenge, but I think that that's gonna be probably the biggest thing for me is kinda shifting, that role and that mindset.

Yeah. I can imagine that. Well, thank you for that answer. Seeing no further questions, I'll move to recommend approval.

Alright. I'm recommending approval of the promotion of Cassandra's campus to the position of police sergeant. Consentor Mbaugh?

Yes.

Consentor Klingen?

Yes.

Councilor councilor Strazo? Councilor McLaughlin?

Yes.

Cherry Jungkampin?

Yes.

Alright. With that, that is everyone in favor.

Excellent. Thank you very much for being here. We appreciate your service to the city.

Thank you for having me.

We'll take up the next item, please.

Alright. Item number six, ID number 25Dash1486, referred for recommendation, requesting confirmation of the promotion of Patrick Kenti to the position of police sergeant.

Chief Benford.

The chair, thank you very much. Again, it gives me a great honor to recommend officer Patrick Canty for the role and promotion to the rank of sergeant. It really bears mentioning the unequivocal work that officer Canti has done with our youth and working in some of our marginalized communities, particularly over domestics. He's extremely well respected in that community and with the young persons. He's shown a tremendous commitment to working with those young persons, and I look for that to be elevated on a leadership level and for him to not only use his informal leadership ability that he has with his officers, but also amongst his peers, but to also use him now as a supervisor to help engender individuals to wanna join us and really following his lead.

Officer Canty comes from a long history of family members that have served in the law enforcement community. He has other family members that represent his family line in the SPD. It is certainly a pleasure to work alongside him. He's been extremely responsive to all the asks that we put on the table. He serves in a multitude of different specialty capacities and helping us meet our mandate. I think that it will be a compliment to the department and look forward to, working with him and continuing to develop this, department into the twenty first century. It gives me great pleasure, to present, officer Canty, recommended for the rank of sergeant before the committee.

Excellent. Officer Quinte, thank you for being here. Is there anything you wanna add, like, for introduction?

I just wanna say thank you for the opportunity. I'm really excited about it.

Excellent. Thank you for being here. Colleagues, counselor.

You. So good to see you, officer.

Good to see you.

I see you everywhere. I feel like when I saw your name, was like, oh my gosh. You know? What took them long to have you over? Just, you know, like, also, like, an expansive question.

First, I'm really excited that I saw your name. Was like, wow. Like, this is, like in a way, I'm gonna take take a candidate like this to executive session. So but how do you plan to, you know, continue to mentor, like, young officers, you know, like, in community engagement practices? Like, what is your like, I I'm sure you've you really have, like, a very expansive understanding of the department, your broad knowledge and experience in like, how would you mentor the young officers? Like, what is, like how what what approach would you use?

So I so I I'm a believer in show me. So I like to set lead by example, and I and I like to show show by example that these things are working. When we first started out with the community police and working with the kids, like a lot of we had a lot of doubt and nobody thought that they would welcome us or want us down there. And just by showing up and listening to them and have an open dialogue and answering questions, we mentioned earlier about transparency and policing. I think that's the most important thing we can do is be transparent and tell explain why we're doing things when we're doing them.

But just having a open dialogue with the with the youth, I think that I can show the the younger officers that that this stuff really works. And if you believe in it and you commit to it, you can make a big difference.

Thank you. Thank you, officer and thank you for your service to our community.

Thank you very much.

Supporting him. Thank you, chair.

Thank you, counselor. Officer Canty, can you just tell us a little bit what do you see as challenges to this new role?

Sure. One of the challenges I foresee is probably shifting from a peer to a supervisor, taking that next step of no longer no longer being on the same level as the frontline workers, and you have to you have to be able to be be monitor their performance now whereas before they looked at you as a peer, now you're now you're a boss. And I think you have to separate the personal from from the work life. And I think that's that would probably be a challenge more I've done it in other jobs, so I think I'm well versed in it. But for some of the guys who have seen me as their peer, now I'm gonna have to monitor their performance and provide, like, a a constructive criticism without alienating them or making them mad.

And I think just, walking around those issues would be my biggest challenge.

Thank you for that. Yes. The the the public very much depends on those kind of awkward changes in ranks sometimes. We are certainly all, you know, counting on supervisors in the department, to to to do that. So thank you.

Thank you.

Seeing no further questions, the chair moves to recommend approval.

Alright. On recommending approval for the confirmation and promotion of Patrick Canty to the position of police sergeant. Councilor

Yes.

Councilor Klingen?

Yes.

Councilor Strazo? Councilor McLaughlin?

Yes.

Chair Euncampan?

Yes.

Alright. With that, that is all votes in favor.

Excellent. Congratulations, and thank you for your service to the city.

Thank you very much. I appreciate

it. Next item, please.

Alright. Item number seven, ID number 25Dash1485. Referred for recommendation requesting confirmation of the promotion of Jason Costa to the position of police sergeant.

Thank you. Chief Benford.

Thank you very much, mister chair. Again, it gives me great pleasure, to recommend, Jason Costa, to the rank, and promotion to the rank of sergeant. Officer Costa has worked in a number of specialized units through some very difficult periods in policing. He has had to traverse that and has emerged as a much more refined police candidate and informal leader. He is someone that comes into the role with great temperament, well respected amongst his peers.

Additionally, as we look towards the future, I expect that we'll be able to rely on his plethora of temperament and demeanor as well as his respect amongst his peers to help guide and and mentor young persons in new offices as they come into the into the department, convincing them to be partners with us and the community as we look to promote and move the department forward. Again, as I have with all candidates, officer Costas worked very hard in emerging and arriving at this juncture to be a viable candidate. And it gives me great pleasure to recommend this candidacy for the rank of Sajid.

Excellent. Is it detective Costa? Is that correct?

It is.

Detective Costa, thank you for being here. Is there anything you wanted to add?

I'm just blessed and excited for this opportunity.

Excellent. Thank you for being here. Colleagues, counselor Mbaugh.

Thank you, chair. Detective Costa, good to see you. I'm also excited to see your name. As you probably noticed, all my questions are very dynamic, but the the the baseline is I'm excited to see every candidate, so nobody should be anxious. It's, I just wanna understand just how, you know, our officers because you guys are our officers, so it's it's just good to walk through your thinking and on how you approach some of these situations.

So detective calls are like so look. Based on your rich background, like, how do you see the biggest challenging challenge facing sergeants in implementing departmental reforms and account accountability measures?

Yeah. Well, we we have to

enforce policy. We, if if somebody commits, a policy violation, especially if it's something serious in nature, we have to go up the chain of command to address the issue, you know, and enforce progressive discipline. And then again, if somebody commits, like, a a minor violation, a uniform violation or something, you know, pull them aside, you know, let them know what's going on, you know, to comply with a policy. Then if the officer complies, then the issue is fixed.

Thank you, detective Costa. What do you con like, what is, like, what is what do you consider, like, a minor violation? Like, you know, what is that?

A uniform. Missing a pin on your uniform or something like that.

Gotcha. Okay. Thank you. Thank you, chair. I'll be supporting detective Costa. You know, you kinda, like, prompt me again to think more when when I hear about, like, violation. I'm like, okay. Let me see, like, what is that those minor stuff. But I see it. That makes sense. Thank you. Thank you, chair.

Thank you, counselor. Detective, can you talk about what you see as the challenges of taking this new position?

There'll definitely be more more responsibility. There'll be, challenges in mentoring and developing our younger officers so that they have a positive impact in our community as our officers, majority of them are are very young now. So that'll be a challenge in itself, but I'm, I'm motivated for this, for this challenge.

Excellent. Well well, thank you. Thank you for stepping up. The chair moves to recommend approval.

On recommending approval for item number seven, the confirmation of the promotion of Jason Costa to the position of police sergeant. Councilor Mbaugh?

Yes.

Councilor Clayton?

Yes.

Councilor Strazo? Councilor McLaughlin? Yes. Chair Yoon Kampen?

Yes.

Alright. With that, that is all votes in favor.

Excellent. Congratulations. Thank you for your service to the city.

Thank you very much.

Next item, please.

Alright. Item number eight, ID number 25Dash1484. Referred for recommendation requesting confirmation of the promotion of Joseph Tevis to the position of police sergeant.

Chief Benford.

The chair, thank you again. Detective Tees is an invaluable member of the team. He is presently serving as one of our principals in the work that we're doing around evidence modernization being led by deputy Lavey. Detective Tees has shown an energy and a passion for accountability and wanting to move us and this department into the twenty first century and being held at the highest levels of accountability and professionalism. He's been extremely patient in the opportunity while while honing his craft in this area.

I believe that his breadth of experience with detail and having to answer for each and every item that we put our hands on just as we're held accountable to the community is gonna be an invaluable tool and asset that that he brings to the role as he moves into the this next position, presumably, if he's confirmed. I look forward to working with him. I look forward to him bringing his professionalism and his temperament to the role and helping us move the department forward again into the twenty first century. And it gives me great pleasure to present, detective Teves to this committee, for recommendation to the rank of sergeant.

Thank you, detective Thibs. Thank you for being here.

Good evening. Thank you very much for having me.

Counselor Imbod, do you wanna kick us off again?

Absolutely. Thank you, detective Thibs. Good to see you.

Good to see you as well.

I've known detective Thibs for many years. It's, you know, it's still my neighbor. I was really excited to see your name come forward. So, thank you for your service for the community.

Thank you.

This is it this is just, you know, as a as a one of those, you know, like, superior officers now. Like, how would you promote, like, collaboration and communication between officers, you know, and residents just to to improve, like, public public safety outcomes? Like, what's what would be your approach like?

Well, I think one of the main things that people can focus on when they're dealing with the community is having an open line of communication between officer and the community for which they serve. When the community has a level of understanding what police officers have to deal with, they might grow to have a little bit more of a of a respect for the job itself and vice versa. If the officers are listening to the community and they're talking to the community about safety concerns and stuff that troubles them, they might get a better understanding of what's going on within the community and might be able to foster, you know, ways that they could help improve the the overall life of the people that that live within the city.

Gotcha. No. Thank you. And, again, excited to see you. I'll be supporting you, and thank you for your service for the city.

Thank you.

I will see you tomorrow again in the neighborhood. So

Absolutely.

Okay. Thank you, chair.

So thank you, counselor. Detective Tebbs, what do you think about the challenges of this new position?

I think one

of the main challenges, that I would probably face is going from being a person who likes to jump in with both feet and get my hands in the middle of everything and helping and then, you know, transitioning over to a role where you're delegating and you're letting other people do that. I've always been a hands on type of person. I always like to to work alongside, my peers and my partners even if it is in a supervisory position. And, I've had a lot of supervisors that have given me leeway to actually accomplish goals on my own and allow me to experience the the, joys and the benefits that come from accomplishing a set goal. And, I think it's a lot more impactful when somebody does something on their own as opposed to, like, yeah.

I did it, but my supervisor helped me with, like, 75% of it. I think that takes away from it a little bit. So I think that one of my my biggest goals is just to be able to delegate without really getting my hands in there. I mean, obviously, if somebody is having an issue with the task that they have been set to, I would definitely be there to help, to assist, to guide. But I would want them to complete as much of the the the task at hand as humanly possible that, therefore, they get the benefit of doing it, and they get to experience that that joy of completing something that was assigned to them.

So I think that's probably gonna be my biggest my biggest uphill battle is just being able to delegate and then take a step back without actually having my hands in the mix.

Thank you for that. I appreciate it. Seeing no additional questions, I move to recommend approval.

Great. I'm recommending approval of item number eight, the promotion of Joseph Tietze to the position of police sergeant. Councilor Mbach?

Yes.

Councilor Klingen?

Yes.

Councilor Strazo? Councilor McLaughlin?

Yes.

Chair Yongkampen.

Yes.

Alright. With that, that is all votes in favor.

Excellent. Congratulations. Thank you for being here. Thank you for your service to the city.

Thank you very much.

Alright. Onto the lieutenants. Next item, please.

Alright. Item number nine, mayor's request ID number 25Dash1483, referred for recommendation, requesting confirmation of the promotion of Mark DeFava to the position of police lieutenant.

Chief Benford, please.

The chair, thank you again. It gives me great pleasure, to recommend, sergeant Defava, for promotion to the rank of lieutenant. Sergeant Defava, most recently, over the past several years, has committed an enormous amount of professional and personal capital to help in this department realize reaccreditation. It is one of the jobs that's that is not highly sought after. It requires a tedious and a tremendous dedication to detail and working through, mundane processes to ensure that this department is submit submitted to, the best practices, in policing, to marry up with the stellar service that our officers provide.

Officer, excuse me, sergeant, Defava has done that with distinction and really oversaw us in conjunction with a number of other assets that supported him in helping this department receive reaccreditation. Throughout his career, sergeant Defava in in in service to this city, has paid a dear price, both physically and mentally, in service to this city, will forever be indebted, for some of the sacrifices that he's made. I believe that he's gonna be a true asset, in his role, as lieutenant, and I look forward to work with him and continuing to, mentor and learn from him and also working in partnership with him and helping us move the department forward. It gives me great pleasure, to present to this committee, Satsan Tafara, again, for the promotion, to the rank of lieutenant.

Thank you, chief. Sergeant Tafava, thank you for being here. Anything you'd like to add?

No. Thank you so much for that, introduction, chief. Thank you for all the counselors for your time tonight. I really appreciate it.

And I I do, I have a kind of general sense of how challenging the accreditation process is. So thank you for for all your work on that. Councilor Abbaugh, did you wanna start us?

Sure. Thank you, chair, sergeant. Good to see you. It's another you know, your face is not a stranger before this council, and I really appreciate your work. Like the chair said, I think, you know, there are all these intangible stuff that happens behind the scene that nobody, you know, sees. So sergeant Defava, you want me to ask you one or two questions? Should I save the two questions for for captain Peroni, or should I just start hitting? You know? Because the last three, you guys are all heavy hitters here. So tell me, one question or two. This is not a lottery for you.

Whatever you wanna counsel. We'll we'll go with the two. I'll take the

Amazing. Amazing. Is it chair, you see when you get, like, a stellar officer, they said, okay. You bring it bring it on. Okay. So and and, again, this is just, you know again, you are our boys, so it just kind of like, it may help us understand your approach to how you govern as a superior officer. So for example, how would you approach balancing, like, administrative duties with active engagement in field operation?

Time time management. With becoming a lieutenant, it's gonna be greater responsibilities, heightened responsibilities, a greater workload. You have to find a way to balance the administrative side, but also kinda keep the relationship with the operational side of the department, the field, services, as you will, the patrol, the backbone of the police department. So you have to just, be very efficient with your time and and, you know, know your your limitations.

Excellent. Thank you, chair. Thank you, sergeant DeFarver. And one and one last one since you asked for the second one. Right? So what strategy would you use to cultivate departmental culture that values empathy, equity, and service?

I mean, I think that we could do a little bit better with, training. We can always train our offices, build better relationships with the community, maybe enhance our presence on social media, to kinda build that bridge to the community and, you know, just kinda let them get to know us a little bit better. And that's about it.

Sadly, no. You I mean, like, you nailed it. It's it's about, like, you and the fact that you've been asked for two. Like, I had just one question. I had to, like, say, let me speed this fireball. Like, so thank you. I'll be supporting you, and I thank you for your service to the community.

Thank you so much,

Thank you, chair.

Thank you, counselor. Can you tell us what you view as some of the challenges you're, expecting in the new role?

Counsel, like I like I previously stated down so going into a a new role as a lieutenant, there's gonna be more responsibilities, put on your your plate. You just need to be, efficient with your time. Time management is very key in this job. You have to know when to delegate certain items. You know, I'm I'm a person who especially with accreditation, I like doing a lot of the things myself.

As a lieutenant, I can delegate them to a a sergeant, or even a down to patrol if if necessary. But I just know that the greater responsibility is going to lead with a, a very heavy workload and just keeping keeping track of time and deadlines and accountability, you'll be successful at it.

Excellent. Yes. I get the sense that you will be successful at it. So thank you. Seeing no further questions, I move to recommend approval.

Alright. On recommending approval of the confirmation of the promotion of Mark DeFava to the position of police lieutenant. Councilor Mbaugh?

Yes.

Councilor Klingon?

Yes.

Councilor Strezza? Councilor McLaughlin?

Yes.

Chair Eunkempen?

Yes.

Alright. That is all votes in favor.

Excellent. Congratulations, and thank you for your service to the city.

Thank you so much. I appreciate it.

Thank you.

Next item, please.

Alright. Item number 10, mayor's request ID number 25Dash1481 referred for recommendation requesting confirmation of the promotion of Rico Isadoro to the position of police lieutenant.

Chief Benford, please.

Mister Chia, thank you very much. It gives me a a great pleasure, in recommending sergeant Isaduro, for promotion to the rank of lieutenant. I wanna acknowledge, that as over the past year, as we really start to look at better ways to keep our community safe, we had to change posture in terms of how we were approaching public safety in a way that gave us the strongest posture that that we could put forward, but not presented in a way so that individuals felt overpoliced, but felt safe in being able to come into our city or come out of their homes and enjoy the community. Sergeant is Isadora met the moment. There were lots of changes and pivots that we needed to make.

He never once said no. He doubled down, answered the call, followed the orders, but most importantly became proficient and competent and knowledgeable in the areas that we were asking him to grow in. One of his stronger assets that we hear from colleagues that have worked alongside him and for him is that he's a very strong commander and will be a very indelible leader as he goes into this role. He continues to report, continues to perform at a high level. We're looking forward to him partnering with us and helping us use his plethora of experience in guiding some of our newer officers so that they, in turn, become future leaders and professionals tomorrow for tomorrow.

It gives me great pleasure in presenting Sajid Isaduro to this committee for confirmation to the rank of lieutenant.

Thank you very much. Thank you for being here. Is there anything that you wish to add? Alright. Well, we can open it up for questions. Councilor Mbaugh?

Sure. Is is this sergeant here with us?

Yes. Sergeant Isadora, you can hear us. Right? I see sergeant Isadora is here, but he's not hearing us.

Serge, have you unmuted?

Are you able to hear us? Are you able to hear us, sergeant?

Mister chair, if at all possible, if you would be amenable and the committee would be amenable to taking him out of order, we can try and now work with him offline, to see if his technology could be brought up.

Of course. Yeah. We'll we'll lay this on the table and take it right back up. Let's move on to item, 11 in the meantime.

Yep. Item number 11, mayor's request, ID number 25Dash1480. Referred for recommendation requesting confirmation of the promotion of Michael r prone to the position of police captain.

Excellent. Chief, maybe you just got busy trying to work with the, sergeant Isadora. Are you able to introduce, the candidate?

Mister chair, I'm here. Can you hear me?

Yes. We hear you, please.

Okay. Thank you very much. It gives me great pleasure, to introduce, lieutenant Perrone, for the rank of captain. Lieutenant Perrone has been a tremendous partner and colleague in overseeing professional standards. He has clearly helped with some guidance of deputy retired deputy chief Stanford as well as others.

He has really helped to elevate the level of expectation and professionalism coming out of that office. We both submit to and buy into accountability, however, leading with compassion and being fear in our approach. Lieutenant Perron has worked very hard to position himself for this moment and for this opportunity. We we believe that he is going to be a tremendous asset in motivating our younger officers, but also helping us to elevate our our department, particularly through the lens of executive leadership. He continues to foster and embody professionalism.

He continues to seek professional development. It is clear that he is bound for and well positioned to step into this executive leadership role with distinction, energy, and further that we need as we look to move forward. Mister chair, it gives me great pleasure, to recommend, lieutenant Perrone for the rank, of, captain to this committee.

Lieutenant Perrone, thank you for being here. Is there anything you wish to add?

Good evening, Chair, you and Camden. I'm just so happy to be here. Somerville is my hometown. It's where I grew up. Been part of this police department for fifteen years. I've served in so many different roles. I was blessed with the opportunity, to serve sort of from the ground up in new units such as the, community policing unit that we used to have in the Assembly Row area up through detectives and in through the superior ranks as a patrol sergeant, detective sergeant. So happy to serve my community that made me who I am today and gave me all this opportunity. Truly blessed to be here with you tonight and happy to answer any questions that you may have.

Excellent. Thank you for being here. Councilor Mbaugh, you wanna kick it off?

Absolutely, chair. Lieutenant Peroni, save us that editorial. I we when I saw your name, I knew that chief Benford saved the best for last. You know? I've known lieutenant Peroni for as long as I've been in The US where he was my neighbor on Wheatland Street. So it's like and I and I said the most complex questions for you as as since they've decided to bring us the finance in in in that department, I wanna hear your vision. So lieutenant Peroni, what is your long term vision for advancing, you know, police community relations and accountability within your command area?

So just to touch on a little bit of what you said, councilor Imbaugh. Obviously, you've been a great partner, to me and our in in our police department for for a long period of time. We're living proof that we can have difficult conversations and really come come up with some great ideas that are in the best interest of our community. I do think that in terms of challenges, I I've obviously led the the office of professional standards for a significant period of time now through some really difficult times in this community. And I think it's so important for us to build trust and legitimacy.

We're still in that process of building that trust and legitimacy within our community. I have seen that come around, and we and and I think it's been really important for our offices to get out and engage the community. And I know, you know, you and I have appeared together at community meetings in last fall, and you've introduced me to some of your constituents. And I've listened to their ideas and brought those back to the department. We need to continue to do that, because this police department can't function and can't deliver excellent service without being a true partner to the community.

The community decides how make no mistake. Community decides how we police them. I mean, it's an it's extremely important, for us to sort of further that here within the community. I do think that, you know, we do have to learn how to sort of tighten our our belts and do more more with less, and I think our offices are prepared to do that, especially, as some of my colleagues have said tonight. We do have a young department that's extremely energetic and open to new ideas and doing things differently.

And I think that I've been a leader to them, sort of as I've risen up through the ranks here within the police department. And as we bring new officers online here in the future, I plan to continue to do that, continue to sort of foster that dialogue between the community and our and our officers. So I think that's the plan moving forward, and I look forward to working with all of you to do that.

Thank you, lieutenant Peroni. I think, chair, it would be unfair if I don't ask another question even though I'm satisfied with this response. So let me just let me just take another stab because I've asked all the the lieutenant, I can't have as a captain in front of me. I just asked just one question. So based on everything you've said, which is like really comprehensive, and I appreciate hearing that, how will you measure success in aligning the department's goals with the city's broader public safety priorities?

You know, I I I I'm gonna answer I I guess we've you we gave a complex answer to your first question, but I guess I'm I'm gonna answer it in a simple way. What I've started to notice as I was starting to engage with the as I've engaged with the public over the past couple of years, sort of as we've come out of some trying times, where the community may have lost trust, in its police officers, I've noticed that people are starting to engage with us again. They're starting to, you know, I don't wanna say show appreciation, but but they wanna be more engaged with us, and they wanna be part of the future of what public safety looks like. And as we start to work towards these goals, like public safety for all, and things like that, I I I think that, the success comes when when our community members want to engage with us and wanna be part of the solution. And I, in my view, I measure that in part, and then I measure the satisfaction of our officers.

Seeing our seeing how our officers morale, has sort of built up over the last couple of years, seeing how, you know, they come to work every day squared away and ready to go and and and and and happy to serve the community. So when you take those two things, the positive community sentiment, with the boosted morale of our officers, I think we're really moving in the right direction as a police department.

Excellent.

Thank you, Really excited, and thank you for your continued service to the community. Thank you, Joe. I'm all set.

Thank you, counselor. So I guess, you know, captain obviously is a is a public facing role in a way that some of the other positions aren't. You know, I don't know if you view that as as a challenge. I I I imagine that it is kind of a a change, although, you know, obviously, you interact with the public all the time. Maybe it's just more politician facing, not so much the public. But can you can you talk a little bit about what you see as the challenges?

The challenges within the department?

No. Of taking on this new role.

Taking on this new role. Well, I do think, as deputy Lavey mentioned, recruitment and retention, and I've worked extensively on that process over over the last year, of trying to bring in new offices. That's definitely a challenge, and it seems like we're always running uphill in that in that, area. And that does put a strain on other roles. At some point or another, in an executive leadership role, I am gonna be leading a unit that probably will be strapped with strapped for resources over a short period or a longer period of time, and I'm gonna have to figure out how to contend with that.

It's always never been something I've ever run from. I've always been a a a problem solver and somebody who has been able to find solutions to those difficult problems, and I'm confident that I'll be able to do that in this role. As I said, I think we need to continue in our efforts to build trust and legitimacy within the community. I think as a as an executive leader, I think there's more layers to supervise. Every time you move up and rank within a police department, more more units tend to fall under you, and I expect that that will happen.

I am prepared to do that. I've I've as I've said, I've led this department through some, pretty difficult challenges such as the implementation of the Police Reform Act. We've reformed the way in which we handle professional standards. I think I've shown that I am able to to take on those most difficult challenges. And last but not least, just understanding the resources that are available to us as executive. We have to manage those resources. And with that, I mean people and money, and, I am prepared to do that if you I know you all have looked at my resume. I have worked in the finance industry in the past, and I think I've shown that, I've been able to run units within the police department pretty efficiently.

Thank you for that. I I appreciate it. Seeing no further questions, I move to recommend approval.

And on recommending approval of item number eleven twenty five dash one four eight zero, requesting confirmation of the promotion of Michael Perron to the position of police captain. Consentor Mbaugh?

Yes, please.

Consentor Klingen?

Yes.

Consentor Strazo? Consentor McLaughlin? Yes. Chair Ewan Kempen?

Yes.

Alright. That is all votes in favor.

Excellent. Congratulations, and thank you for your service to the city.

Thank you so much.

Alright. Chief, were we able to get mister Isadoro?

Yeah. I can assure you all that, to a true team after we're in the background working now. It it appears as though, as a compromise, one of the prospective sergeants may put him on speaker where he should be able to hear, hopefully, the chair and the and the committee members post questions.

Great. Sorry. You hear us? I see you coming on and off mute, but we don't hear you at the moment.

Officer Canty, are you able to get him live on the phone?

I'll call him right now. Standby.

Alright. We'll try that way. Thank you all for your patience.

I'm always patient, mister chair. I consider myself the most patient man alive. Don't you don't you think?

Absolutely. I I I'm always saying that.

They can't hear. Can you hear me? Yeah.

Yeah. So you're on speaker. I have him on speaker.

Excellent. Thank you. Sergeant Isadoro, can you hear us?

Yes.

Okay. Excellent. So chief Benford introduced you already, and now we're gonna just open it up for questions. Councilor Mbaugh, did you wanna start?

Sure. Chair, thank you for the opportunity. Lieutenant, Sergeant Isidora, so good to have you. We're grateful for your service to the community. I guess I have two questions for you. Hopefully, I will not have to repeat them, but if need to need be, I will do that. So, I guess, how would you ensure consistent application of policies and procedures across different units or shifts?

I would treat, first, I would follow the policy by ensuring everybody does what the policies entail and, require. I'll treat the officers with dignity and respect. So when they go on deal deal with the public, they would, also deal with the public and with dignity of respect. I would make sure that the officers aren't doing what they their jobs, and I'd hold them accountable if they weren't doing their job. Would do it. First, I would do a progressive discipline if necessary. And, you know, most of the time, you get to resolve the issues by just you get I should be training the officers.

Yeah. It's I didn't really hear completely, but I think I think there's, like, some sense making in your response. So I'll I will approve that. And so the second question I have for you is, like, so what are your priorities for training and professional development under your command?

Well, I would treat the officer with dignity and respect. I would let them know that you wanna treat the public the way you wanna be treated, and that's with dignity and respect. Give them a voice if when they encounter the police or any governmental agency, trustworthy, and your decision making. Be neutral and and transparent in your decision making so that they, you know, know they're being treated fairly. And, of course, Chloe's have, you know, trustworthy motives. So treat the public the way you'd wanna be treated.

Okay. Thank thank you, sergeant Isidora. Make sure you take officer Kante for coffee tomorrow for talking through his phone. I'm all set. I'll be supporting your candidacy. Thank you, chair.

Thank you, counselor. Sergeant, I had a question. So I I see from your resume that you've served as the homeland security and special ops sergeant. Is that a position, that requires interfacing directly with the federal government?

Well, we deal with the Boston USC, and we would deal with the government as far as, getting funding, meeting their requirements, as far as making sure that the the we need to replace different obviously, different grants and, you know, to make sure we you know? And we also keep the paperwork and make sure that we, you know, if we get audited, can justify everything we did.

Okay. But it's not like a federal task force. I I just ask this. This is something that I I get a lot of questions from the public about now. See the phrase homeland security. I'm trying to understand that.

No. No. So what we do is, like, we, we get grants for the city. Right. Depending on which programs they have.

We've got, of course, as you know, we've got grants like the shot squatter, gun grants for, different equipment that we have. You know, we've gotten grants for just to, you know, we have to mostly maintain the equipment and, you know, prove that we still have it and, you know, through accounting, and they'll come out and do their inspection. But, no, we don't have any, like you know, so it's mostly grants and things that we can use, you know, cameras, drones, things that help the, our security of the, and also for our natural disasters. I think just for, you know, you know, if you deal with natural disasters, we do web planning. We work with our partners as far as, other cities and towns as far as responding to emergencies such as, you know, floods, chemical leaks, that kind of thing.

Understood. Thank you. Thank you for that. Thank you for clarifying that. Seeing no further questions, I move to recommend approval.

Right. On recommending approval of item number 10, ID twenty five dash one four eight one, confirmation of the promotion of Brico Isidore to the position of police lieutenant. Councilor Mbappe?

Yes.

Councilor Klingon?

Yes.

Councilor Strazo? Councilor McLaughlin?

Yes.

Chair Euncanpin?

Yes.

Alright. With that, that is everyone in approval.

Excellent. Congratulations, and thank you to your service to the city. And to all the candidates, thank you for your patience tonight. I know this was a long agenda. And with that, I move to take up the meeting minutes from the table and adjourn.

On meeting minutes and adjournment. Councilor Mbaugh?

Yes, please.

Councilor Klingon?

Yes.

Councilor Strazo? Councilor McLaughlin? Yes. Chair Johan Campen?

Yes.

Alright. With that, it is 08:01PM, and we are adjourned.

Thank you all. Appreciate it. Good night. Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.