The Police Commission finalized on Tuesday a list of 14 applicants for patrol officer jobs at the .
The commission voted during its regular meeting this week to have all of the applicants undergo thorough background checks, which is the last major component before the departments settle on their final choices for six open positions.
The 14 selected candidates have already gone through all their initial testing for the jobs, such as a physical aptitude test and oral examination. The salaries for police officers run between $57,010.19-$63,810.89.
The department is undergoing a large personnel change as eight senior members — lieutenants, sergeants and the sole captain — .
The move is part of an agreement reached between the police union and the borough government where, in exchange for early retirement, the union agreed to an overhaul of the officers’ pension plans.
From now on, new police hires will have pensions that are more akin to the private sector's 401(k) plans. The change is expected to save the borough money in the long run.
With the staggered departure of these higher-ups, the management positions will be filled internally. Meanwhile, Naugatuck is seeking applicants for the lower jobs.
Already one detective and a lieutenant have left and Capt. Jeremiah Scully is expected to leave by the end of the month.
after vetting roughly eight candidates in the background check, said Steven Smith, chairman of the Police Commission.
It’s unclear, however, exactly how many new hires will be brought on this year, because apart from the early retirements there are also other officers that are leaving the department after serving their due 25 years, .
But with two officer positions already filled that means at least six other jobs are still open, if not more.
“I would think it depends on how many slots they’re trying to immediately fill,” Smith said. “There’s a need this year to fill eight positions so that’s why we put forth a list of 14, so hopefully if they all get through the department will have a list to pull from.”
