3/16/11 - The Hamburg Township Board accepted Police Chief Steve Luciano’s letter of resignation at its regular meeting last night and approved guidelines for a 10-step process to replace him. Luciano has served as Hamburg’s chief of police for the past five years, and the board thanked him for his dedication and accomplishments during that time, including his efforts to combat drug use and increase patrols and enforcement around the township. The board plans to advertise the opening at least through the month of April. In the meantime, Lieutenant Brian DeNoyer has been appointed as the department’s interim Chief of Police. Once all the applications have been collected, they will be narrowed to the top 10 by the township's Personnel and Public Safety Committees, given background checks, then narrowed to the top five by an external panel of three law-enforcement experts. The committees will then narrow the applicants down to three, and the township board will appoint the new chief from among the finalists. A public meeting was held on Monday between the township’s Public Safety Committee, Personnel Committee, and the Hamburg Police force to determine the standards for the search and the qualifications for the position. The issue of qualifications is being raised by some within the department who say the educational requirements that the chief hold at least an associates degree is being replaced with a proviso that the chief have a bachelors degree OR equivalent command experience of at least ten years. Trustee Mike Dolan says that although he was not a board member five years ago when the township last went through this process, he believes that the current search procedure is more detailed and open than last time. Members of the public and the police force came forward during the call to the public at last night’s meeting to encourage the board to take their time in finding a new chief of police. (TD)