Region: East Lyme selects Ledyard Mayor Michael Finkelstein to be police chief

East Lyme — The Police Commission on Tuesday unanimously selected Ledyard Mayor and retired police Lt. Michael T. Finkelstein as its choice for chief to lead the new independent police department the town is establishing.

Finkelstein said by phone Tuesday evening that he was honored to be offered the position and, “if everything works out,” he is likely to take it.

While he said that the recommendation’s timing “isn’t the most ideal,” coming a year and a half into his four-year term as Ledyard’s mayor, the position is a “unique opportunity.”

“It’s definitely something that hasn’t happened in the 21st century” outside of Ledyard, Finkelstein said. “To be able to be a ground floor of creating an independent police department (is) certainly an interesting complex challenge.”

East Lyme First Selectman Mark Nickerson said the next steps in the process would be background checks and contract negotiations.

Finkelstein has been serving as mayor of Ledyard since 2015. He had retired from the Ledyard Police Department in 2015 after more than two decades on the force, most recently as lieutenant.

Nickerson said Finkelstein successfully shepherded Ledyard’s move to an independent police

“It’s definitely something that hasn’t happened in the 21st century” outside of Ledyard. “To be able to be a ground floor of creating an independent police department (is) certainly an interesting complex challenge.” LEDYARD MAYOR AND SOON-TO-BE EAST LYME POLICE CHIEF MICHAEL T. FINKELSTEIN

force and has been a “wealth of knowledge” during East Lyme’s own efforts to go independent. Finkelstein has great experience dealing with a police force like East Lyme’s that is transforming from being under the Resident State Trooper program to being independent, he said.

“His personality came through in the interviews,” East Lyme Police Commission Chairman Daniel Price said. “He’s going to be a great representative of the police department for the town.”

They said Finkelstein’s experience as mayor would help him.

In November, the Board of Selectmen decided to move toward leaving the Resident State Trooper program and establishing an independent police force.

Nineteen candidates applied for the police chief position. Price said there were very qualified applicants from both big cities and small towns.

The salary for the position was posted at $95,000 to $105,000, but is subject to negotiation. The job posting referenced that it would be preferred that the police chief live in East Lyme or a bordering town, but residency requirements also would be subject to negotiation, Nickerson said.

The announcement of the police chief at the Police Commission’s regular meeting followed an executive session in which the commission discussed personnel, as well as a “real estate opportunity.” The selection of the police chief was the only business conducted during the regular meeting.

The town plans to move to the independent police department no later than July 1, Nickerson said.

Finkelstein said he will work with East Lyme to develop a timeline for his transition out of the mayor’s office if he is selected, and will work with his successor during the transition “as much as they need me.”

Ledyard’s town charter dictates that if the mayor leaves in the middle of a term, the Town Council chairman becomes acting mayor until the full council can appoint a replacement.

The position then will be included in the next municipal election, which in Finkelstein’s case will come this November.

Council Chairman Linda Davis, who said she was surprised when she heard of Finkelstein’s potential new job, said that his replacement would have to be a Republican by state statute.

“I would like to see ... someone willing to run in November,” she said, and hoped to go through the Republican Town Committee’s nominating committee, adding that the party in Ledyard has a “deep bench” of potential candidates.

As the first time Ledyard has had to appoint a new mayor, the transition time frame could be a little open-ended as the town charter doesn’t stipulate a schedule. But Finkelstein’s predecessor, former Mayor John Rodolico, said that he felt it would go smoothly.

“I have a lot of confidence in the Town Hall staff ... we have the capability and the depth to make it work,” he said.