Photo: Mark Hurley, Belmont’s interim Police Chief

Assistant Belmont Police Chief Mark Hurley was named the department’s interim head by the Belmont Select Board on Thursday, Aug. 21.

After meeting with Hurley in exective session in Town Hall, the board voted unanimously to elevate the life-long Belmont resident to the department’s top spot as the town begins the search to replace current Chief James MacIsaac who announced his retirement in July.

Acknowledging that Hurley is undertaking two jobs moving forward and will be a critical piece of the transition to a new chief, “we’re really grateful for [Hurley] to step up and help our community, both at this time and going forward,” said Board Chair Matt Taylor.

The board approved an interim annual salary of $205,000 for Hurley’s tenure as chief. Board member Elizabeth Dionne said “there’s always a lot of public attention” when it comes to paying top line salaries.

Besides the market realities for an experienced public safety leader, “I believe … Hurley has some unique skills at a time when it is difficult to hire qualified chiefs,” said Dionne. “We have a lot of issues on the town’s right now, and we are very grateful that he is going to step forward in this transition time.”

A 1989 graduate of Belmont High School, Hurley holds a Bachelor of Arts from UMass/Boston and Master’s Degree from Western New England College.

Hurley began his career with the Belmont Police Department in 1998. He was promoted to Sergeant in 2007 and Lieutenant in 2014. MacIsaac appointed Hurley to second in charge of the department in May 2020.

After his appointment, Hurley said he will continue the current direction of the department.

“I think we do a good job of being up the community. I think that the vast majority of people are very satisfied and happy with us,” said Hurley.

“I wanted to have a very professional police department that treats people with dignity, and with respect, and that does its job. [Public Safety] is a tricky job nowadays: some people want severe enforcement done, and other people don’t want so much. So we kind of walk a tightrope. But I think [Belmont] does a very good job of trying to treat people fairly. And that’s the name of the game.”