Three vying for public safety position

By Christina Scanlon

Washington County supervisors have narrowed the field to three candidates for county public safety director and will interview the finalists in depth next week, after the Washington County Fair has ended.

The seat has been vacant since June, when Bill Cook unexpectedly announced his retirement. He left the job three weeks later.

In the interim, Tim Hardy, deputy director of communications, and John Pease, deputy director of emergency management, have taken over duties.

Hampton supervisor Dave O’Brien, the personnel committee chairman, said the county received about 12 applications.

The job description remains the same as when Cook left. Cook worked for the county more than 30 years, starting as a part-time dispatcher in 1984. Last year, he oversaw a $750,000 capital project that relocated the 911 communications center.

The software installed for dispatchers has come under scrutiny for multiple glitches and system crashes. O’Brien said most of the bugs have been worked out, with minor issues remaining. At no time, he said, did the glitches shut down the system, affect response times or interrupt emergency calls.

An annual salary of $50, 792 was paid for the position in 2014.