Removing Police from Civil Service

Town Meeting members voted to approve changes to the hiring process and pay for police officers.
There are a lot of rules that govern policing in Massachusetts. Sets of rules have evolved over time that govern almost every aspect of the profession. In Needham, the town was bound to follow state rules in hiring and human resources management that classified the police as part of civil service. It was a practice that let to some pretty difficult choices. Town Meeting had a chance to address that at the 2022 Special Town Meeting in May.

This story ran as part of the Needham Channel News, a weekly newscast airing on The Needham Channel every Thursday at 7:30pm. The Needham Channel News can be found on the Community Channel: Comcast 9, RCN/Astound 15 and Verizon 29. Most Thursdays it also can be viewed on our HD Channel on Verizon 2129 and streaming on this site.