ROWLEY – Rowley has chosen its next police chief, a 17-year veteran of law enforcement, who committed to being employed only by Rowley for at least the first year.
Subject to a background check by a third party, the SelectBoard voted unanimously to offer the chief position to Michael Balsley, a lieutenant at the Danvers Police Department.
Balsley was one of 11 applicants who applied after the previous candidate, Matthew Ziev, could not reach an agreement with the town, largely over the issue of outside employment.
“I am committed to delivering the highest quality of policing to members of the community,” Balsley told the SelectBoard.
Baisley presented a business and action plan for the Rowley department, which Selectman Robert Snow said when he read it, “This blew me away. I looked at this, sold.”
Other members of the board said they liked what they heard from him about his management style, particularly that he would mentor and train officers, rather than immediately disciplining them.
Balsley, who began his career in Newbury and then worked also as an officer in Topsfield, said the police can have a greater impact on a smaller community, than a larger one, like Danvers, where he worked from 2012. He favors community policing, having officers spend time getting to know residents. He summed up his philosophy as being accessible, available and fair.
“I want all the officers to be accessible to the residents, I want them to be available to the residents, and I want them to treat people fairly,” he said. “That’s how I will treat them, and that’s how I expect them to treat one another.”
Balsley is scheduled to assume the position early next year, after acting Chief Stephen May’s contract expires at the end of this year.
In Danvers, where he rose in the ranks from patrolman to sergeant to lieutenant, Balsley supervised the night shift, worked with detectives as a crime scene photographer and assisted in buying vehicles, he said.
As a lieutenant, starting in 2019, he took over the field training program and oversaw a program that diverts people with mental health issues from the criminal justice system and provides them with needed services.
For five years, Balsley has also participated in union contract negotiations. He conceded that he had no experience maintaining police buildings, but promised to treat the police headquarters as he would his own house.
Having worked in Newbury allowed him to establish a relationship with Police Chief Patricia Fischer. He said that would be beneficial in working with the Triton Regional School District, which serves both towns and Salisbury. ♦
