has been without a chief of police since May 16, when in the , but the mayor says the village board is close to filling the position.
Under the law, the village has 90 days from Wilson’s last day to appoint a provisional chief, Mayor Mark Epley said Wednesday, adding that the village board will not take the full 90 days to make a decision.
The board has narrowed the field of candidates down to three, Capt. Thomas Cummings, who is running until a provisional chief is named, Det. Sgt. Herman Lamison, the head of investigations and Sgt. David Dorchak, of the patrol division.
Find out what's happening in Southamptonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
The village enlisted John Gallagher, a retired Suffolk County police commissioner and historian, to weigh in on the decision, with Gallagher interviewing the top candidates and making a recommendation. Epley said he hopes to make a decision as soon as the board receives his advice.
The village board had a conference call with Gallagher on Tuesday and set up a matrix for ranking candidates in seven different areas, including administrative skills, command presence and community relations, Epley said.
Find out what's happening in Southamptonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
The mayor said for the provisional chief to become permanent, he needs to take a Suffolk County Civil Service chief exam in March, and score in the top three.
If Cummings is the village board’s choice, he may be the only village police officer given the opportunity to take the exam, Epley said — the village board has the option to only offer the test to officers with the rank of captain. As long as Cummings passes, he can move from provisional chief to permanent chief.
“He’s passed it twice already,” Epley said. “He passed it six years ago, and he passed it five years ago.” But the exams are too old and Cummings must take it again, he added.
If Lamison or Dorchak are chosen, then the exam will be offered down the ranks to the captain, lieutenant, and sergeants with three years experience in their posts, increasing the field of candidates who take the exam to seven, Epley said. He acknowledged there is the potential that Lamison or Dorchak do not make it into the top three, which would cause the village board to have to revisit its hiring decision to comply with civil service law.
The fewer eligible officers who take the exam, the greater the chances are that the village board’s pick scores in the top three, but Epley said he would not ask anyone eligible to take the exam not to take it.
