MONTAGUE — It looks like acting Police Chief Chris Williams will become the town’s permanent chief, if negotiations are successful.
The Selectboard unanimously voted to allow Chairman Richard Kuklewicz and Town Administrator Steve Ellis to enter into contract negotiations with Williams.
Ellis presented the ranked list of candidates from the Civil Service Assessment Center to the Selectboard this week. Of the three candidates, Williams was ranked first, Lt. Christopher Bonnett was ranked second and Sgt. James Deery was ranked third.
Kuklewicz said he feels comfortable moving forward with the negotiations with Williams. He said he felt the board did its due diligence by going through the process of an assessment center, including involvement of community members who worked to tailor questions about their concerns and potential issues.
“Although we were not able to get a full report, just seeing the scope of the work that we’ve discussed previously makes me feel it was a good review of many public concerns,” Kuklewicz said.
He added that he hopes to come back to the board with a recommended contract, and potentially review it in an executive session.
Lt. Chris Bonnett was serving as acting chief earlier this year until a domestic violence complaint was lodged against him this summer and he was put on leave. The complaint was dropped after the accuser recanted her false allegations, but not before the Selectboard returned Bonnett to the rank of lieutenant and placed him on administrative leave pending outcome of the case.
Although exonerated, he is still on leave, and his plans for the future unclear.
In an apology letter written by Duquette, she said “I am responsible for the horrible and completely false accusation against Christopher Bonnett.”