CLAREMONT — The City Council on Wednesday voted to support drafting legislation to put before the Statehouse that would move authority to appoint members of the city’s police commission from the city manager to the council.
A bill is required is because the commission was established by a special act of the Legislature shortly before Claremont became a city in the late 1940s, Mayor Charlene Lovett said Thursday.
The 6-3 vote came after a discussion on the filing of a Legislative Service Request in Concord, which is the initial step toward creating a bill for consideration in the Legislature.
The only change being sought is who appoints the commission members. No one on the council appeared to support leaving the authority in the hands of the city manager, but there was some mention of perhaps making the positions elected.
Councilor Jonathan Stone said most communities with police commissions have the members elected, though he supported giving the council that authority along with councilors Claire Lessard, Andrew O’Hearne, Kristin Kenniston, Nick Koloski and Scott Pope.
Lovett, who said she wanted more time to consider her decision, voted no along with Assistant Mayor Allen Damren and councilor Abigail Kier.
“If it goes to voters, I would want a recall provision, but I am more in favor of council appointments,” Koloski said.
Kier said making the positions elected would risk politicizing the commission.
O’Hearne, a Democratic state representative, explained his support for council authority.
A former Claremont police officer, O’Hearne said the current setup giving the city manager, the ex-officio member, authority to appoint commissioners and remove them can lead to questions about members’ independence.
“Seems if you want to stay on the commission, then you listen to that ex-officio member,” O’Hearne said. “It is better to appoint by a body of nine.”
O’Hearne also said there will be a “separation” between the council and commission, unlike now, because none of the council members will be ex-officio members.
Speaking in support of the current format was Police Chief Mark Chase.
“I’m in support of the city manager selecting them (commissioners),” Chase said at the council meeting. “I believe what we have now is working.”
O’Hearne’s legislative service request is in title only and was done, he said, to meet the September deadline for House members to file. He said Thursday he would work with attorneys, with council input, to develop a bill to introduce when the Legislature returns in January.
Patrick O’Grady can be reached at pogclmt@gmail.com
