What will it take?
Since it was announced on October 1st 2018 that the Board of Selectmen decided in a closed meeting not to renew Police Chief Tom O'Loughlins Contract, without a valid explanation, Milford residents have been rallying in support of Chief Tom O'Loughlin while struggling to understand the Boards decisions and actions. Monday’s Board of Selectman meeting was a precedent setter with SIX former Milford Selectmen taking a stand in supporting Chief O’Loughlin, his performance and the need to negotiate a contract with him. These six former Selectmen thought highly enough about our chief and the job he is doing, that they banned together to compose a statement which was read and presented by former Selectman John Seaver.
The six former Selectmen:
John Seaver
John Pyne
Marie Parente
Salvatore Cimino
Dino DeBartholomeis
Reno DeLuzio,
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along with 2100+ Milford residents who signed a petition in supoort of “Keeping Chief O'Loughlin”, two unanimous “Vote of Confidence by the Police Union and
2000+ registered voters who signed a voter recall to remove one of the selectmen responsible for not renewing the chiefs contract have stood up publicly to express what they want for the Milford community.
Thousands more residents, families and children have shown an outpouring of love, appreciation and suport for our Police Chief, yet Selectmen Will Kingkade and Bill Buckley don't seem to care about the will of the public and their opinion about Chief O’Loughlin.
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Shouldn't his record here matter? Shouldn't all the good he has done matter? Shouldn't everything he has brought to Milford matter? Shouldn’t our opinion matter? After all, we are the people that he serves. We are the people that he goes above and beyond to protect implementing safety protocols such as the Special Operations Team, Para-Medic Response Services, a comprehensive and effective response to the opioid crisis to include Narcan and treatment, and the list goes on and on and is simply never ending.
How many times has one of our Board of Selectmen needed the help of the Chief or the Milford Police? What is their personal experiences with the services from the Chief or the Milford Police?
The answer is readily evident based upon their past comments commending Chief O’Loughlin and the Milford Police Department.
To dismiss the outstanding work our Chief has done; to dismiss what voters want; to dismiss what the police officers want and to dismiss what residents want, how is THAT in the best interest of Milfords ciizens?
It's time to take politics out of this! Our Town Hall is unfortunately gaining the reputation among it's residents as being a troubled one with numerous lawsuits and other demoralizing “political” or “friend only” decisions.
Clearly the time, money and resources being waisted on this one topic is truly a disturbing trend of this present Board of Selectmen.
Some might say this doesn't affect Chief O'loughlin, with his resume and accomplishments, he should have no problem finding a town lucky to have him for the next three years. I disagree. To expect a person to restart their career, leave the town they've called home and cared about for more than 17 years, can't be an easy task!
None if this makes much sense to us "common" folk and now, after former Selectman Seaver’s presentation, there are SIX former Selectmen who see this debacle and the solutions through the same lense as the residents and police officers of Milford.
What will it take?
Negotiate and give Chief O’Loughlin his contract so that we, the residents of Milford, can look forward to a smooth transition of the leadership of OUR Police Department over the next couple of years.
If the Selectmen truly want to address some serious community concerns then let’s get started with the need more diversity at Town Hall; more women, more ethnicities, more people of moderate or lo income being considered seriously for positions; and greater input from seniors.
As the six former Selectmen stayed, this adverse situation impacting Chief O’Loughlin and the entire Town of Milford needs to be resolved NOW! Do whats right! Renew Chief O'Loughlins contract for the remaining 3 years of his career, give him a huge send off with many thanks for turning our town around and keeping crime at an all time low and THEN move on and find a suitable replacement. You do not have to be a politician or have a degree in politics to see how wrong this entire situation has become.
Maybe it's time for the people to be heard and for the Board of Selectmen to respect the opinions and voices of those who elected them.