Nearly a year after Westborough Police Chief Alan Gordon first proposed the creation of a Deputy Chief position to the Board of Selectmen, the conversation continued without any decision on Tuesday evening.

As he did on Feb. 8, 2011, Gordon explained to the selectmen that he was not looking to add to the police department staff. Instead, he was looking to turn one of the two current Lieutenant positions, both union members, into a nonunion Deputy Chief position.

He said that he and his administrative assistant are the only two nonunion positions in the department. By adding a nonunion Deputy Chief, he said, there would be no conflict of interest - as it relates to the union - in the event that a fellow officer should be investigated or a union issue is being negotiated.

“Everything would be above board,” he said. “There would be transparency.”

In an interview with Westborough Patch last year, Gordon said that the demands of the office of the Chief have increased and having a Deputy Chief is looking more like a necessity. He pointed out that while the residential population of Westborough remains constant at about 18,000, the number of people in town swells to about 35,000 during weekdays when all of the local business employees are at work.

Selectman Leigh Emery said she wanted to explore how the Department of Pubic Works and the Fire Department would be affected by such a change in structure, suggesting that those departments might also change to a nonunion employee as second-in-command.

Westborough Fire Chief Nick Perron then addressed the board to explain that he has the same issues as Chief Gordon when it comes to disciplinary action or union negotiations. “I’m basically the sole disciplinarian,” he said.

“I think we should be looking at a Deputy Chief position for the DPW and fire departments,” Perron said. “But maybe the next fire chief should look at the command structure and not me,” he added, alluding to the fact that both he and Gordon will be facing retirement in the not-too-distant future.

Selectman Lydia Goldblatt agreed. “My feeling is that the other chiefs come in, they are going to be taking over a department…and maybe they want it another way.”

“I’m convinced there is a need in both departments to explore this,” said Selectman Tim Dodd.

After some discussion, the board agreed that Town Manager Jim Malloy should sit with the two Chiefs and DPW Manager to look at options and answer questions.

If the Chief’s proposal moves forward, it will need approval of the Board of Selectmen to be added as a warrant for voters to consider at Town Meeting.

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