SOUTHWICK – During its Sept. 15 meeting, the Southwick Select Board unanimously approved a motion to offer the police chief position to current Southwick Police Lt. Robert Landis.

After Police Chief Kevin Bishop announced his retirement at the expiration of his contract at the end of fiscal year 2021, the board put the discussion on hold until after Labor Day and opened it up at the meeting.

To start the discussion, Select Board Clerk Russ Fox suggested that the board offer the job to current Southwick Police Lt. Robert Landis.

“I’ve dealt with replacing chiefs; this will be the third or fourth time. I would suggest since we have Lt. Robert Landis, who has done an outstanding job and was a finalist for the chief’s position, and I think he would make an excellent candidate for the town of Southwick,” he said.

Fox added that he thought extending the offer now would save the town time and money and allow Landis to learn under Bishop.

“This would give him an opportunity to work on the budget with Chief Bishop because it will be his budget. I think this would save the expense of doing a search for a chief and give an opportunity for people in our department to move up,” he said.

Board Vice Chair Joe Deedy agreed with the motion and said that promoting within the department was the way to go.

“I think Landis did an excellent job interviewing back three years ago. He would be a perfect shoe to fill that spot. I think it’s a win-win for the town and it fits, we have a good team over there and this is what we’re supposed to do when we spend all of our money so these guys can be the best of the best,” he said.

Agreeing with the rest of the board, Select Board Chair Doug Moglin said that offering the job to Landis showed the strength of the department.

"I think it’s an awesome motion. I think it’s a testament to the strength of the bench that we have at the Southwick Police Department. I think Lt. Landis will make an excellent chief for the Southwick Police Department,” he said.

During public comment, Bishop chimed in to say that he was happy the board selected Landis as his successor.

“I think that’s the correct decision for the future of the Southwick Police Department, I have full faith in Lt. Landis that he will step up to the plate and carry on with the great job he’s doing,” he said.

Moglin added that once contract negotiations with Landis are complete, the board will begin looking into hiring his replacement as lieutenant.

The Southwick Select Board next meets on Sept. 29.