The Somerville City Council has questions about the police hiring process.
At a January meeting, councilors on the Confirmation of Appointments and Personnel Matters committee discussed the process behind why these nine candidates are being recommended for the police reserve list to fill vacancies at the Somerville Police Department.
Though these appointments were sent to the council in March 2020, the pandemic and ongoing conversations about police reform have delayed their discussion until now.
Questioning the hiring process
On Dec. 4, 2019, Somerville reported 10 Police Department vacancies, and the state provided the first 55 names on the Civil Service list. Candidates had a week to sign or withdraw, and the city received 34 signatures. Per the civil service process, the city must review two times the number of reported vacancies plus one, or 2N + 1, so the city could begin interviewing the first 21 people to sign the list.