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RFH 2010, Cover Stories, Village of Hamilton

Chief's Stay Extended

Thu, Sep 15, 2011

Chief's Stay Extended

HPD Chief Rick Gifford is staying put for at least another nine months.

In a very brief statement issued today, Mayor Margaret Miller said:

"The Village of Hamilton Board of Trustees and Police Chief Rick Gifford have come to an agreement and he will continue to work as our full time Police Chief until at least June of 2012."

Gifford had been scheduled to wrap up his service in Hamilton at the end of this month. When he was hired, about a year ago, Gifford and the village sought a waiver so he could continue to draw pension payments as well as his salary. This was common practice until earlier this year when Gov. Andrew Cuomo said waivers would no longer be granted and regulations would be strictly enforced.

No details of the agreement between the chief and the village were released.

See our editorial.

With that, the village began a search for a new chief; one that was not going very well.

The mayor said of Gifford:

"Chief Gifford has a very positive attitude about our village and has worked hard to improve our parking issues, student behavior issues, and is extremely respected and liked by all in our community."

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