Government

Watertown Hires First Human Resources Director

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Colleen Doyle has been hired as Watertown’s first Human Resources Director. (Courtesy of the City of Watertown)

The City of Watertown hired the new, and first, director of the Human Resources Department. The department replaces the Personnel Department. The City sent out the following announcement of the new hire:

City Manager George Proakis is pleased to announce that Colleen Doyle will join Watertown on Oct. 12, 2023 as the City’s first Director of our new Human Resources department.

Government

Early Voting in 2023 Election Approved by City Council; Fewer Days Than Prior Years

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Watertown voters will have the opportunity to cast ballots in person before election day in the 2023 Watertown City Election, but there will be fewer early voting days than previous elections. Under the state’s VOTES Act cities and towns have the opportunity to offer early voting, but must opt in. For Watertown that means a vote of the City Council, said City Clerk Janet Murphy. Voters will also be able to vote by mail, and at voting locations on Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2023.

Police/Fire

Council’s Public Safety Committee Gives Priorities for New Police Chief

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As he prepares to hire the next Watertown Police Chief, City Manager George Proakis heard the priorities of the members of the City Council’s Public Safety Committee as well as the public on Monday night. The hiring of the Police Chief will follow the Civil Service process, Proakis said, and the first step is running an assessment center, where candidates will be tested on how they perform in real world situations. The assessment center is scheduled to take place in October, Proakis said, which means a new chief should be hired this fall. Jack Parow, founder and principal of Parow Consulting & Associates, said the assessment center will include multiple scenarios, such as a problem employee, a media exercise, an inbox exercise where the candidates respond to emails and letters, and a problem-solving exercise where all the candidates will work together. Each scenario will be tailored to Watertown, and will include issues that arise in departments like Watertown’s, or even issues from the past or that have come up in surveys of Police officers and the public.

Police/Fire

Police Log: Scammer Sells a Fake Kitten, Employee Busted for Stealing Merchandise

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The following information was provided by the Watertown Police Department. Arrest

Aug 28, 12:48 a.m.: An officer on a traffic detail saw a vehicle with no headlights on and the hazard lights blinking driving on Mt. Auburn Street near Arlington Street. The vehicle struck the curb while pulled into the parking lot at 7-Eleven. When the vehicle left, the driver swerved across the double yellow line, and then went back onto the correct side.

Police/Fire

Car Crashes Through Storefront, Closes Arsenal Street to Deal with Gas Line

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An elderly driver drove through the window of a vacant office at 440 Arsenal St. on Thursday. (Courtesy of Watertown Fire Department)

An elderly man driving on Arsenal Street on Thursday left the roadway and crashed through a vacant storefront, breaking a gas line. Watertown Police received multiple 911 calls about a vehicle that drove through the window of an unoccupied and vacant office at 440 Arsenal St. at 1:30 p.m. on Thursday, said Watertown Police Sgt.