Norwell Approves New Contracts for Police and Fire Chiefs

Board votes to increase salaries, citing market competitiveness

NORWELL, MA - September 18 - The Norwell Select Board voted Wednesday to approve new employment contracts for Police Chief Edward Lee and Fire Chief David Kean, aiming to bring their salaries in line with market rates.

The contracts, effective from July 1, 2024, through June 30, 2027, were approved during the board's regular meeting.

Town Administrator Darleen Sullivan explained the rationale behind the new contracts. "We entered some negotiations with both the police chief and the fire chief. We have some increases to basically bring our chiefs [salaries up]. They were on the lower end compared to some other towns," Sullivan said.

She added that the town conducted an analysis based on various communities nearby and across the state. The proposed increases will position the chiefs' salaries "in the middle, not at the top and not at the bottom," according to Sullivan.

Board member Pete Smellie expressed support for the increases. "I think what we're doing for an increase is very fair to bring them in line, to be competitive. We have the benefit of having two amazing chiefs. We don't want to give them any incentive to look anywhere else," Smellie said.

Board Chair Jason Brown, who has served on the board for 12 years, provided historical context. "We've worked very hard over the course of those years to bring the chief contracts into marketable line. We were well below market for many years," Brown said.

Brown praised the performance of both chiefs, calling it "exceptional." He also highlighted the unprecedented cooperation between the police and fire departments in Norwell.

"Norwell is not at the top of the compensation scale, but we're no longer at the bottom," Brown added. "Our chiefs fall somewhere right in the middle, which I think is fair and where it should be."

The board approved the contracts unanimously. Sullivan mentioned that recent increases to staff salaries had reduced the margin between staff and leadership compensation, necessitating adjustments to the chiefs' contracts.

The board also approved a new license agreement for Cross Street Flower Farm, running from Jan. 1, 2025, through Dec. 31, 2027. This agreement comes after a lengthy negotiation process and addresses various stakeholder concerns while clarifying operational guidelines for the business on town-owned property.

Board member Brian Greenberg, who was involved in the negotiations, said, "I think it's something everybody can live with. And that's kind of the sign of a good agreement."

The process was described as complex due to multiple vested interests in the property. Brown explained, "Part of the complexity in this is that the way this property is structured with oversight makes it extremely complicated because there are a lot of vested, diverse interests in the property, all having somewhat of a say about how and what gets done."

Town Administrator Darleen Sullivan and Assistant Town Administrator Kim Roy were praised for their efforts in facilitating the agreement. Greenberg noted, "Darleen and Kim deserve a lot of praise. It's a lot of parties they were dealing with, a lot of strong personalities, and I think they did a great job kind of corralling everybody and getting everyone onto the same page."

The new agreement is seen as an improvement over the previous one, with Brown stating, "Is it perfect? No, probably not, but it's better than what we had. And I think at least the format of the contract eliminates a lot of the ambiguity that used to be not present in the contract."