Belmont Select Board Unanimously Picks Salem Deputy Chief as Next Police Chief

BELMONT — February 20, 2026 — Belmont Select Board unanimously appoints Salem, N.H. deputy chief as next police chief. The three-member board voted 3-0 Friday evening to offer the position to Shane Smith, currently deputy chief of the Salem, New Hampshire Police Department, subject to a background check and contract negotiations. Smith, 45, emerged from a field of 19 applicants that was whittled to three finalists through a screening committee process chaired by Mark Polillo and managed by Perro Consulting and Associates. The other finalists were Watertown Police Captain Dan Unsworth and Southbridge Police Chief Shane Woodson. Chair Matt Taylor and Member Elizabeth Dion both cited Smith's blend of strategic and operational thinking, his union-presidency background — "nothing's usually for free," Dion said of his negotiating posture — and his explicit commitment to developing internal candidates. Woodson's roughly 60-mile commute from Southbridge and his candid statement that he would not relocate were described as deciding factors against him by two board members.