Looking for some leeway

Mayor Jeannette McCarthy wants more independent authority to choose a chief of police.

McCarthy, now in the process of replacing the retired former chief, Edward Drew, said she will make the hire under existing rules. However, in a request to the City Council for its first regular meeting of the fiscal year, McCarthy called for revising the city ordinances that govern selection of a new police chief.

In a Sept. 6 letter, the mayor told councilors that current rules, which limit whom she can consider as successor, are "not only self-serving, but also not in the best interests of the Police Department nor the Waltham community."

The city's current ordinance effectively restricts possible successors to internal candidates, requiring the mayor to get special permission from the council before extending the search beyond active officers holding the rank of captain or higher. The mayor can seek that permission only if the call for a new chief attracts fewer than four internal candidates.

McCarthy's letter does not outline any specific changes to the ordinance but states that it should be made consistent with the city's ordinance for selection of fire chiefs. That ordinance says only that the chief serves a lifetime appointment, made by the mayor and confirmed by City Council, and that a fire chief can be removed for "just cause."

During its meeting Monday, the council referred the mayor's request to its Ordinances and Rules Committee without discussion. That committee meets next on Sept. 17.

In August, McCarthy appointed an acting police chief, Thomas Lacroix, to serve until mid-November. She has said she hopes to have a permanent chief in place by then.

Ward 2 Councilor Edmund P. Tarallo, who chairs the Ordinances and Rules Committee, said the current ordinance received wide support among councilors, police officials, and patrolmen when it was approved eight years ago.

He said that over this past summer, the council received a letter from unions representing police that opposed any change to the existing rules. He said it would be premature to say how much support the mayor's proposed changes would have among councilors.

"I think the key is that someone would have to present evidence that there was need for a change, and I haven't seen any yet," said Tarallo in an interview Tuesday.

McCarthy also submitted a revised draft of a request for proposals for reuse of the surplused Banks School building, which had failed to attract any usable proposals during the last bidding round.

Two nonprofits that had expressed interest in leasing the property, Greater Waltham ARC and the Waltham Alliance to Create Housing, had argued that the last request had restrictions that made untenable the renovation of Banks into affordable housing or a service center for the mentally disabled, two possible uses preferred by the city.

The previous request had limited the lease to just 10 years, not enough time for nonprofits to secure funding and complete the extensive renovations needed, and too short a time period to provide the stability that funders would require.

McCarthy's revision includes a request for a special act of the Legislature to allow the city to have a lease term of up to 99 years.

McCarthy leaves the exact number of years up to the council but says that the state's Department of Housing and Community Development's loans, which could be used to develop the property, are usually structured around a 50-year lease term.

The Banks School matters have been referred to the council's Request for Proposals Committee. It will have a joint meeting with the Ordinances and Rules Committee next Monday.

Stephanie V. Siek can be reached via e-mail at ssiek@globe.com.