PITTSFIELD, Mass. —— Town Manager Paul Sieloff couldn't be happier with the performance of the police chief in his first year.

 

The Board of Selectmen authorized a 2.5 percent raise for Chief Timothy Sorrell on Monday after Sieloff's exceptional review. As part of his contract, Sorrell will be reviewed annually and pay raises will be based on performance.

 

"I have him excellent in every case," Sieloff said.

 

Sorrell took over the department from Mark Bashara, who retired, on July 1 of last year. Sorrell had actually taken over operations a month or so earlier on an interim basis but the new contract wasn't in place until the first of the fiscal year. 

"You couldn't have asked more of the chief because of the shortage and taking extra shifts," Sieloff said.

 

Beyond that, Sorrell is credited with saving the town money through converting the animal control operations into a police position, adding the responsibilities to a current officer rather than having the town pay for a separate department. Further, he helped develop bylaws including one to allow towing vehicles during the winter, requiring door-to-door solicitors be registered with the town, and levied fines for false alarms that incentives businesses and individuals with faulty alarms to fix them.

 

"I think he's fulfilled that position at an exceptionally high level," Sieloff said.

 

Sieloff had already budgeted for the 2.5 percent raise and the Board of Selectmen were unanimous in approving it. 

 

"I know Tim has really been putting himself on the line for the job," Selectman Henry Sayers said.

 

Sorrell is one of just three contracted workers in the town. The rest are either represented as a union or are Town Hall staff, restricting the Selectmen's ability to offer performance-based ray raises. 

 

The chief was selected for the position after being a runner-up for it in 2003. He's served on the department for 29 years, becoming a full-time patrolman in 1987. He was promoted to sergeant for 12 years and then became an investigator.