PHILLIPSTON – The Selectboard met with Templeton Police Officer Bill Chapman Wednesday night to discuss his interest in becoming the town’s next chief of police.

Chapman was asked to meet with the board after its first choice, Templeton Police Officer Robert Deschenes III, turned down the position after the parties were unable to reach an agreement on a contract. Deschenes was offered the role in late September, after the Selectboard had interviewed a half-dozen candidates, of which Chapman was among the three finalists.

“We’re not crazy about long-term contracts at this point,” Chair Bernie Malouin told Chapman. “What we’d like to do is work within our personnel policies. Typically in Phillipston, we do appointments every year.”

Malouin said that the town’s bylaws require the board to appoint, or reappoint, the police chief at the beginning of each new fiscal year. He added that the bylaws call for a six-month probationary period.

“Your case would be a little bit different than if somebody just came in,” Malouin said. He noted that Chapman, after a year on the job, would be entitled to the seniority earned while he served as a Phillipston officer from 2021 to 2023.

The board has been looking for a new chief since former chief Kevin Dodge retired earlier this year. In June, Phillipston Detective Sergeant Sean Sawicki agreed to take on the responsibilities of the chief until a replacement could be found. Sawicki was among those interviewed to fill the position.

Board member Gerhard Fandreyer told Chapman he was concerned with the amount of time the candidate would spend away from Phillipston in his position as a K-9 trainer. Chapman said that on his own time, he travels for a few days a couple times a year to teach for the National Police Bloodhound Association.

“But I’m not obligated to go teach any certain amount of time, it’s whatever I can do,” Chapman said. “Last week I could have gone to South Carolina to do training down there, but it’s not a requirement. At minimum, I would probably go for one week a year to go train. It would be using my own personal time, vacation or otherwise, to go.”

Chapman is also an instructor with the state’s police academy, typically one day a week. Chapman said he would be willing to work an evening shift on the days he is at the academy, where his hours are generally 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Working evenings would give him an opportunity to patrol, as well as offering an opportunity for residents to visit him at the station to discuss concerns during hours that are more convenient for people who work during the day.

Fandreyer asked Chapman if he was satisfied with the salary of just over $69,000 a year, with the potential for additional compensation for working holidays.

“It looks like it comes to around $90,000 with those extra days,” said Malouin.

Without offering an explicit “yes,” Chapman told the board he would like some time to discuss the job offer with his wife, as well as review the town’s personnel policy.

Chapman said he also wanted to touch base with the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association to seek some input before making a final decision, particularly on working under a personnel policy, rather than signing a formal contract.

Regarding the issue of a contract, Malouin said, “We may, somewhere down the road, consider that. Right now, ideally, what we’d like to do is have someone come in to be the chief – you know what the pay is, you can look at the personnel policy and see what that is – and somewhere down the road, maybe a year or two, if you think you need a contract, we can discuss that.”

The board voted to schedule a meeting for next Wednesday in order to give Chapman the time needed to review the job. At that time, it’s hoped, the board will be able to vote on the appointment.

“We want to move on this and get our town back in business,” said Malouin.

Chapman thanked the board for its interest in taking him on as the town’s new police chief.

“I’m very connected with the town, the people of the town,” he said. “It’s on those grounds that I would be interested in this position – to do the job on behalf of the people of Phillipston.”

Greg Vine can be reached at gvineadn@gmail.com.