Hamilton Select Board Approves Chief Contracts, Tables Flag Policy Vote

HAMILTON -- June 6, 2022, Hamilton Select Board approves chief contracts and a water abatement while tabling a new flag display policy. The board unanimously extended Police Chief Russell Stevens for three years and Fire Chief Raymond Brunette for four years, with Town Manager Joe Domelowicz noting Brunette received additional stipends to correct a pay gap relative to peers; the Brunette contract was conditioned on the addition of language, drawn from Stevens's contract, permitting title and duty changes in any future regionalization scenario. A disputed $497 water abatement for a Bay Road property was approved over the DPW director's objection, with the board acknowledging the policy "does not expressly preclude" irrigation-related losses while simultaneously ordering revised policy language within one month barring all future exterior plumbing abatements. A one-page flag display policy modeled on a San Jose ordinance cited in Shurtleff v. City of Boston was tabled after audio failures left Zoom attendees unable to hear most of the debate, with member Jamie Monahan amending the draft to permit any town board or committee, not just a Select Board member, to bring flag requests by formal vote, and adding POW/MIA flag language in line with federal guidance.