Unable to find an interim chief before retiring Chief Matthew A. Reimondo retired yesterday, the town has asked Reimondo to stay for another three months as the interim police chief.
The town will pay Reimondo $36.92 an hour and give him a stipend for health insurance under the agreement. As chief, Reimondo earned $99,000 annually, or about $47.5 per hour.
"After significant review of the state statutes, which dictate the appointment of a Police Chief, it has been determined that an external interim candidate is close to impossible with Chief Reimondo's January 30th retirement," the town said in its release. "While many of the candidates would be good for the permanent Chief's position the timeline presented for the interim makes the recruitment of an external candidate impractical. With both public safety and the Department's needs in mind Chief Reimondo has agreed to act as the Interim Chief while the Town Manager focuses all efforts to finding East Hampton's next Police Chief.
The search for the permanent chief has already begun and the town will make an announcement about the process tomorrow.
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Reimondo, who has been embroiled in controversy for the last few years and was let go in 2010, only to fight his way back into the job, accepted an early retirement offer from the town recently, along with longtime officer Sgt. Garritt Kelly. Both have worked in the department for more than 20 years.
After he was reinstated as chief following a town-wide vote in 2010, Reimondo sued the town over the way he was abruptly laid off. The town settled with him in 2011 for $200,000.
