The
measure first received Board approval in July 2008 but failed to get
the required State House vote before the legislative session ended.
Police Captains Michael Cabral and Paul Upton have served as acting
deputy chiefs since last September.

Cabral reviewed the
reasoning for putting the positions in the hands of the police chief at
the board's Sept. 24 meeting, noting it is an essential part of the
department's reorganization.

Under the plan, any senior officer
at the police department would be eligible for Police Chief Anthony
Holloway to recommend for the one-year position. After approval from
the Board of Aldermen, the position would be up for renewal.

The
same arguments were lodged for and against the measure, with Ward 6
Alderman Rebekah Gewirtz expressing concern about politicizing the
positions by taking them out of civil service.

"I'm very
concerned that as we move towards a trend of removing positions from
civil service we open ourselves up to a situation where we might have
people being put into positions in the future who might not be
qualified for the job," Gewirtz said.

Cabral countered that the
civil service system, which relies on tests to determine whether an
officer is qualified a position, the Board would have a voice in the
process.

"You evaluate us for our entire careers," Cabral said. "We didn't just come up here as deputy chiefs … You know us."

Also responding to Gewirtz, Ward 4 Alderman Walter Pero said the Board should not tell the department how to manage itself.

"For
us to think that we can manage the police department with a plan that
we would propose as opposed to the one they brought to us, I think it's
just simply wrong," Pero said.

The plan passed 9-1, with Gewirtz voting against the measure.