Civil service requirement could go away for Medford police chief position

If the state legislature agrees with city leaders, the positions of Medford police chief and (potential) Medford deputy police chief would become exempt from Civil Service Law.

Mayor Breanna Lungo-Koehn asked the City Council to authorize her to petition the state legislators to remove the two positions from the constraints of civil service, and the council agreed, but not before seeking some clarification.

“How did we arrive here, why was it important that this happened through collective bargaining, and generally, what are the implications going forward?” asked City Council President Zak Bears of Police Chief Jack Buckley. “I just wanted to understand that from you.”

Buckley said he thought doing away with Civil Service for the chief position was something the city had been planning in order to change the future of the Police Department – and he doesn’t disagree. Buckley said there has been a lot of work done to professionalize the department and grow the organization, and getting rid of Civil Service requirements is simply the next step. But since the move would impact future members of the Superior Officers Union, it first became a collective bargaining issue, which the unions all signed off on.  

Buckley said one catalyst for the change was a 2025 change in Civil Service Law that capped the number of people who could sit for the chief’s exam. In 2018 Civil Service Law stated there had to be four individuals in the grade below chief eligible to take the test, but Medford only had three captains, so they opened it up to lieutenants as well, Buckley said.

“So instead of having three candidates eligible and competing for the job, they had an additional nine … it allowed me to compete for the job and I ended up being the successful candidate,” he said. 

However, with the 2025 change in the law, Buckley said, only two can sit for the exam at any given time. It restricts internal candidates, he said. 

Buckley also said the job of chief is not getting any easier and the city should want to find someone with the right experience, highly qualified, that could bring in new ideas. He also noted that Medford doesn’t currently have a deputy chief. That would be a new position, and there is no guarantee it would ever be one, but his recommendation would be to fill the position. He pointed to just a year ago when he became ill and had to take time off.

“It’s always beneficial to have somebody who’s ready to step into that executive role,” Buckley said. “From my learning experience, having a deputy chief who kind of could take my place in a lot of different instances, it's beneficial for the police department. That’s why a lot of departments do that.”

City Councilor George Scarpelli said he also spoke to Union leadership, was assured the unions supported the initiative, and made the motion to support Lungo-Koehn’s request.

Councilor Emily Lazzaro said knowing the unions were on board removed a sticking point for her and she would be happy to support Scarpelli’s motion.

“I do believe that removing the chief from Civil Service and the two potential deputy chiefs from Civil Service opens up the field to a wider group of candidates,” she said. “It allows for different, qualified, candidates to come and apply for the job, and it's best practice, and it's just a good thing for the city and the department … I'm glad to know that, and I would be happy to move forward with this.”

So was the rest of the council, and the request passed unanimously.