Girard officials have test results

By John w. Goodwin jr.

The position could be filled by early April.

GIRARD — The chief of police position here has not been permanently filled, but officials now know who scored the highest in a testing process for the job.

Two captains in the department with enough service time to apply for the chief’s position, John Villecco and Jeff Palmer, took the exam. Jerry Lambert, the city’s safety-service director, said Palmer received the higher of the two scores on the exam.

Villecco has been the acting chief in the police department since former Chief Frank Bigowsky stepped down as part of an agreement with city administration in June.

Lambert said Villecco and Palmer have until Friday to contest any parts of the exam. If neither candidate contests the exam, the city will move forward with a selection.

“Right now we are in a waiting period to see if anyone is contesting anything in the test. After that, we have 15 days to offer position,” he said.

The city used a new assessment process by the Ohio Association of Chiefs of Police to determine who would get the position.

Kurt Latell, chairman of the civil service commission, said the commission decided to go with the new process after an hourlong meeting with a representative of the police chiefs’ organization.

Under the assessment process, Latell said, a three-person panel made up of association members will take each candidate for the position through an in-depth interview.

Lambert said the city administration will select the best candidate, as determined by the testing process.

“We are determined to let the assessment test be the sole determining factor for the chief’s position,” he said. “We will offer the position to the No. 1 candidate on the test.”

Lambert said the city could announce who will take the position by early April. The police chief’s salary is set at $47,350 under current city ordinance.

jgoodwin@vindy.com