When we first heard that Orange and Athol were considering sharing a police chief, it sounded like a bold move, but a huge and probably impossible job for one person. Then we learned it was conceived as a temporary measure to provide administrative leadership for Athol while the clock winds down on its current chief, Russell Kleber. And that made much more sense.
Kleber and the Selectboard, for unspecified reasons that should have been more transparent, have agreed he will resign his job but essentially stay on the payroll through next May. That separation agreement makes it essentially impossible to replace Kleber this budget year, which ends June 30, and it leaves the department short on leaders.
Lt. Ron Cote, who has been with the Athol force for more than 30 years, has been placed in day-to-day command, but it would be unfair and impractical to expect even someone so experienced to guide the force on a daily basis, and to handle all the administrative duties required to keep the department running smoothly for that long.
The solution, apparently worked out by the administrative managers in both towns, is to share the Orange chief for the rest of this fiscal year. It’s probably not an ideal situation in the long term, but in the medium term, a benefit to neighboring Athol. Orange will also save some money, assuming Athol will pay for half of Orange Chief Craig Lundgren’s time. Athol won’t have to hire some outside interim administrator unfamiliar with the town, with money it doesn’t have.
Lundgren has been working as Orange’s chief for about five years now and clearly knows the ropes and seems to enjoy the confidence and high regard of his Selectboard. Lundgren started with the Orange Fire Department in 1981 and joined the town’s police department in 1983. He was promoted to sergeant in 1996, and later made acting chief and then chief when Robert Haigh moved to lead Greenfield’s force.
At the time, Haigh observed that before becoming Orange chief he had been officer-in-charge during a search for a permanent chief. He felt that was a disservice to the department and town because an officer-in-charge doesn’t have sufficient authority to lead the department in the absence of a chief.
If he’s right, this move makes more sense for Athol.
Orange Town Administrator Gabriele H. Voelker and Athol Town Manager Shaun A. Suhoski developed the framework of an agreement to have the abutting communities share the services of Lundgren from Nov. 1 to the end of the current fiscal year, June 30. Kudos to them for coming up with the shared service agreement that will essentially provide that each community receive half of Lundgren’s time during the workweek and be responsible for half of the cost of the position.
This agreement would strengthen the command structure and provide for professional development of each town’s professional staffs during this extended hiatus. Athol will also benefit from having direct access to an experienced police chief who is familiar with the region and personnel.
The officials stressed that the proposal is temporary, and will have opt-out language should either town feel the arrangement is not meeting expectations.
All in all , it sounds like a very sensible arrangement that will benefit both towns.