Methuen braces for huge payout
Police Chief Joseph Solomon retiring after hubbub over massive raises for top officers
Methuen city councilors fear they’ll be forced to pay embattled police Chief Joseph Solomon “hundreds of thousands of dollars” following his retirement Friday — just weeks after he and a captain were put on paid leave over a scathing state report about their handling of high-paying contracts.
Solomon confirmed to the Herald that he intends to retire Friday from his $300,000-plus post, but declined further comment.
In a letter to Mayor Neil Perry, a copy of which was obtained by the Herald, Solomon said he was proud of his more than three decades on the police force and nearly two decades as chief.
But with the city entering another year still embroiled in police contract issues and with the Civil Service Commission probing the force’s hiring practices, Solomon said he believes it’s time to “move forward with new leadership and without the political distractions.”
“While I remain confident in my ability to defend my personal and professional performance in any forum, the ceaseless baseless attacks on my integrity, together with the constant political interference in the management of the department, have created a negative environment that is detrimental” to the city, police department and Solomon’s family, he wrote.
City Councilor D.J. Beauregard said “a lot of outstanding questions remain” — not the least of which about the size of Solomon’s retirement payout, which will include at least unused vacation, sick and compensatory time and could “easily” be six figures if not “likely in the hundreds of thousands of dollars range.”
“That would be crazy, especially if we’re still trying to figure out the level of mismanagement,” Beauregard said.
In a report issued just before Christmas, state Inspector General Glenn Cunha found “a failure of leadership at all levels” regarding contracts approved in 2017 for Solomon and the superior officers that included raises of 35% to 183% for sergeants, lieutenants and captains, with salaries for the latter estimated to rise to $432,000 on average.
Language in the contracts would set the already well-paid Solomon — who earned roughly $326,000 in 2019, more than the top cops of the city of Boston and State Police — up to be one of the highest-paid police chiefs in the country.
Cunha said Solomon, who represented the city in contract negotiations “knew” about the “unapproved language … but failed to tell” city officials or the negotiating team.
Solomon, in his letter, expressed “strong disagreement” with the report, saying he was never interviewed by the IG’s office and “never given the most basic common courtesy to respond to accusations I believe are blatantly false.”
The mayor declined comment. In an email to councilors obtained by the Herald, Perry left the door open for “other action” against the chief.