Village hires new police officer

By Jaime Thomas

The village of Granville will have a new face among its police department after officials hired a new, full-time officer Monday night.

The village board unanimously made William Kitts, who recently started working part time for the village, a full-time employee starting at the beginning of July. Police Chief Ernie Bassett said Kitts had one of the top three scores from the county’s civil service test list, “And he’s certified, so that’s a big plus that we don’t have to send him through certification,” Bassett said.

Kitts is currently working part time at the Ballston Spa police department, and he’ll start working more in Granville at the end of June. Bassett said he still has to do a physical fitness test for Washington County Civil Service as well.

“He seems to be very happy to have been chosen, and that works both ways; we’re happy to have him too,” Bassett said.

The department will be able to employ Kitts for weekend shifts that have been difficult to fill.

“We’re hoping it will alleviate part-time shifts that the full-timers aren’t covering,” Bassett said. As a certified officer, Kitts will earn $18.48 per hour effective June 1. There are now five full-time officers working in the village and four part-time officers, but Bassett expects to hire five or six more for part-time in the near future.