Tappenier named township’s next chief of police
Nov, 11-2009 4:40 pm
By CHRISTIAN MANAHAN
Staff Writer
HAMILTON TOWNSHIP – Mayor Nelson Gaskill called it the current administration's most important decision.
Gaskill would eventually add that it was an agonizing process as well.
Following a 25-minute executive session Monday, Nov. 9 at Town Hall, Township Committee decided that police Lt. Stacey Tappenier would be Chief Jay McKeen's successor. He was chosen from among three candidates that interviewed for the job: Lt. Paul Sorrentino, Lt. Michael Petuskey, and Tappenier.
Sorrentino and Tappenier were present at Monday night’s meeting.
“I’m humbled by the experience,” said Tappenier after the meeting. “Any one of us would be good selection. I do respect the burden that (Township Committee) had. It was an extremely difficult decision.”
His boss agreed.
“Township Committee had a difficult decision to make because they had good choices, and that is a win for the citizens of the township, because having excellent support staff is as important as having an excellent police chief,” McKeen said in an email Tuesday, Nov. 10.
“That said, the township government made the single best choice for chief of police.”
Township Committee voted 3-2 to appoint Tappenier. Officials said that the appointment is contingent upon the new chief reaching a contract agreement and when McKeen officially retires.
Deputy Mayor Roger Silva, Committeeman Tom Palmentieri, and Committeeman Charlie Pritchard voted yes, while Mayor Nelson Gaskill and Committeewoman Amy Gatto voted no.
Although Gaskill and Gatto preferred Petuskey, also voiced their support of Tappenier.
Palmentieri and Pritchard said they made their choice based on the formal process the governing body has in place for selecting a chief of police. Following that process led them to conclude that Tappenier is the most qualified of the three candidates, they said.
Gaskill and Gatto expressed some disagreement with the formal process.
“Not everything is quantifiable by numbers,” Gaskill said.
"In conducting my own analysis of the candidates, the margin is tight,” Gatto said prior to casting her vote. “For me, as a resident and a committeeperson, there is one candidate who stands above because of several intangible attributes – his personality and his dedication to community service in our town; that candidate is Lt. Mike Petuskey.
“Where some discomfort comes from for me is the fact that at the end of this process, we five committee people are responsible for a vote,” she said of the decision that ensued when committee members reconvened after closed session.
“I needed additional answers to make that decision. I don't feel that I got the support of my colleagues in that request. I was uncomfortable with the scoring process; I was uncomfortable with not receiving an in-depth report from the Selection Committee; and I was uncomfortable with the 11th hour attempt to lobby for one candidate over another by those persons who were supposed to remain unbiased.
“All that being said, I've logged countless hours reviewing all the inputs that were available to make a decision,” Gatto added. “The residents can rest assured that whoever is chosen tonight will continue to provide solid leadership over our town’s public safety department. I certainly will support 100 percent whoever is selected as the majority will of this committee."
Tappenier, 42, has been with the Hamilton Township Police Department for 22 years. He began as a patrolman and moved up the ranks.
He has a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Thomas Edison State College, a graduate certificate in criminal justice from the University of Virginia, and a master’s degree in criminal justice from Boston University.
In 2008, he received professional training from the Federal Bureau of Investigations National Academy in Quantico, Va.
He is married and has one child.
McKeen said praised his qualifications.
“Stacy has sound judgment, is a student of the profession who prepared in and out of work for this position,” McKeen said. “In addition to obtaining his master’s degree from Boston University, he sacrificed comfort and family time to go away for 11 weeks to develop his skills at the FBI National Academy in Quantico.”
McKeen said the township’s next chief is devoted to doing the best job he can for the citizens of Hamilton Township.
“Stacy is the guy in the office who the rest of us go to with the regular question, ‘What advice can you give me for this situation?’”
The township has a police promotions ordinance, which according to Township Administrator Sasdelli reads, “promotions shall be on the basis of merit, experience, education, demonstrated ability and competitive examination.”
The process involved submission of a management plan of the police department; responding to a list of essay questions; an interview with the Selection Committee, which is comprised of Sasdelli, Silva and Pritchard who are the committee’s public safety liaisons, and an outside, objective law enforcement officer who in this case was Deputy Chief Mike Barth of the Evesham Township Police Department; and the evaluation of the applicant’s educational background, professional training, and resume.
The management plan and essay questions are scored blindly by the Selection Committee. At the conclusion of the process, the Selection Committee provides results to all members of Township Committee for their deliberation and action.
McKeen has been with the police department for 25 years and has served as the chief of police since 2001.
McKeen’s 2009 salary was set at $119,000. He declined a pay raise this year due to the township’s budgetary constraints.
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Lt. Stacey Tappenier
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