Homegrown talent: Wellesley swears in Police Chief Scott Whittemore
New Wellesley Police Chief Scott Whittemore, who has worked his way up the ranks since joining the force in 2006, was sworn in at Tuesday night’s Select Board meeting (see Wellesley Media recording at 24-minute mark).
The Board had earlier appointed the new chief as well as a new fire chief.
Whittemore, who grew up in town, has been deputy chief since 2017. He succeeds Chief Jack Pilecki, who retires at the end of this month after serving the town as chief since 2017 and for 41 years on the police department overall. Farewell events for Pilecki have been held earlier this month ( Also see: Wellesley Police Chief Jack Pilecki exit interview covers 40 years of changes)
Whittemore’s responsibilities of late have included day-to-day command of the department’s operations, and he’s been recognized for creativity in establishing the department’s drone program, which has proven vital for public safety. Whittemore’s technical acumen has been instrumental as well in areas such as securing state and federal grants for equipment and overseeing the Emergency Communications Center renovation and public safety antenna project.
The town negotiated a contract with Whittemore that will pay him a $232K salary for fiscal year 2025, plus he’ll be looking sharper than ever with a $2,500 clothing allowance given he’ll need uniform upgrades. Whittemore also gets a department vehicle because as Board Chair Tom Ulfelder described, the chief is essentially on duty 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Select Board member Beth Sullivan Woods strongly supported Whittemore becoming chief, though raised concerns about having him report directly under the contract to the town’s executive director rather than the Select Board (and the process through which that change was made). Other members spoke both in support of the new chief as well as of the contract and new reporting structure.