The Police Commission has appointed itself to serve as an “executive-level personnel search committee,” which will seek a replacement for Police Chief Michael Kehoe, who has announced that he will retire from the police department next January.

Three of the five police commission members met for a brief session on June 10 to create the search committee, which is comprised of all five commission members.

Voting in favor of creating that committee were Chairman Paul Mangiafico, Brian Budd, and Virgil Procaccini, Jr. Members Joel Faxon and Andrew Sachs did not attend the session.

Mr Mangiafico told commission members, “We are now faced with our duty to find a replacement for Chief Kehoe.” The police chief’s planned retirement on January 6, 2016, was announced at a June 2 Police Commission meeting.

Chief Kehoe, 60, has worked at the police department since 1978, rising through the ranks to become acting chief in 1999, and the chief in 2001.

Mr Mangiafico said that besides the five members of the Police Commission, the search committee may include First Selectman Pat Llodra, who is an ex-officio member of the Police Commission in her role as the head of town government.

Under the terms of applicable state law, a “personnel search committee” is a body appointed by a public agency, whose sole purpose is to recommend to the appointing agency a candidate or candidates for an executive-level employment position.

Also, such committees are not required to disclose any records of a personnel search which, because of name or other identifying information, would reveal the identity of an executive-level employment candidate, without the consent of that candidate, according to applicable state law.

Mr Mangiafico said it is not yet clear whether the search committee will hire a personnel search firm to aid it in finding  a new police chief.

Because vacancies for the position of police chief occur relatively rarely at municipal police departments, it is expected that advertisements for filling the vacancy will attract many applications.

Since it was organized as a municipal law enforcement agency in 1971, the Newtown Police Department has had only four police chiefs, including Chief Kehoe.