Belmont Awards Police Chief Search Contract to Local Firm for $11,800

BELMONT — October 6, 2025 — Belmont Select Board picks local firm to find next police chief, accepts $51,000 in rink donations. The board voted 3-0 Monday to award a $11,800 police chief search contract to Jack Parro of Parro Consulting and Associates, a Chelmsford-based public safety firm run by a former fire chief and former Lowell police superintendent Ken LaVallee, over a larger regional competitor, Municipal Resources Inc., which bid $13,700. Chair Matt Taylor said he preferred the more customized local process, noting "I feel like I can stand on that, even if people don't like the outcome." The board also accepted $35,721 from Belmont Youth Activities and DARE Inc. for ice skates and storage racks at the new Belmont Sports Complex, plus $15,650 in additional rink donations, and established a seven-member police chief screening committee that will include representatives from the Human Rights Commission or Belmont Against Racism. School Committee Chair Meg Moriarty told the board during public comment that the Belmont Education Association's latest contract proposals would cost the town $1.2 million more in FY26 and more than $5 million more over three years than the school committee's offer, and asked the board for guidance on whether it should stay within the town's budget allocation. The board voted unanimously to recommend favorable action on 13 of 15 articles on the October 20 Special Town Meeting warrant, including a new 6 percent local room occupancy excise tax effective November 1, 2025.