Kristopher Joswiak will take over as police and fire chief Feb. 17. Gemma Flores | Collegian

The Hillsdale City Council selected Kristopher Joswiak as the new Hillsdale police and fire chief in an 8-1 vote at its Feb. 2 meeting. 

Joswiak, a native of Canton, Michigan, has served in both fire and police departments for more than a decade, according to Mayor Scott Sessions. 

Ward 2 Councilman Matthew Bentley, who objected to the selection process, was the sole vote against Joswiak.

“I am confident his background and leadership experience will be an asset to both the police and fire departments in our community,” Sessions said. 

The appointment comes after former Police and Fire Chief Scott Hephner announced his retirement in December. 

Sessions appointed Joswiak with the help of city staff members and the Public Safety Committee, as outlined in the Hillsdale City Charter. Through a series of meetings, Sessions and his team of city staff members interviewed each of the five top candidates, three of whom were internal. 

Bentley and Ward 4 Councilman Joshua Paladino agreed that Joswiak was a qualified and likeable candidate, but said they felt the entire council should have been involved in the decision-making process. 

“Were I to have been in your position, I would have wanted the candidate to get a full, unanimous support from the council. But having only met him for the first time, and this appearing in the packet, this paltry information, I can’t vote for this,” Bentley said. “Did you think we would rubber-stamp whatever you put forward?”

Other council members said they believed the selection process was fair. 

“This mayor did not select his chief of fire and police in a vacuum,” Ward 1 Councilman Greg Stuchell said. “He had guidance. He had direction.”

Paladino argued that the electoral power for such an influential job should involve the judgment of the entire council, not just a select few. 

“Think about how this works in the legislature, even in Congress,” Paladino said. “The president or the governor will make an appointment, and you go, and you sit there for hours, and you ask question after question. You look at the interviews and the different possible applicants.”

Stuchell said that Paladino’s proposed selection process was unorthodox. 

“I’ve never seen an interview process like that, and I’ve interviewed a lot of people in my career,” Stuchell said. “I’m confident in the leadership of Mr. Mackie, Chief Hephner, and the mayor.”

Bentley said it was the mayor and City Manager David Mackie’s leadership that made him wary of the decision. 

“That’s why I’m voting against it. I am not confident in Mr. Mayor, specifically, and also Mr. Mackie,” Bentley said. 

Paladino moved to table the vote to give all council members a chance to get to know Joswiak better, but the motion failed 6-3. After that, all members of council but Bentley voted to institute Joswiak as Hillsdale’s new police and fire chief. 

Hephner will step down Feb. 17, giving Joswiak time to work alongside him for a few weeks. Though he currently resides in Canton, Joswiak plans to live in Hillsdale during the week for the next few months. After his two children finish the academic year, he said he plans to move to Hillsdale this summer, where he’ll then live full time. 

Joswiak said he appreciated the council’s discussion at the Feb. 2 meeting. 

“Being a police officer, being a police chief, we expect to have discussions like this and to be able to talk civilly,” Joswiak said. “That’s what society’s all about in governments, right?”