JAY – Selectpersons voted Monday night following an executive session to approve an amendment for the Jay Police Department union contract addressing promotions, Town Manager Shiloh LaFreniere said Tuesday.

The language needed to be clarified prior to starting the process to hire a new sergeant and a new detective, she said.

Former Sgt. Troy Young resigned in November to become a deputy with the Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Department. Detective Richard Caton IV was promoted to police chief in November. Prior to that, he was acting chief since February, when former Chief Larry White Sr. went on sick leave to battle pancreatic cancer. White died on Oct. 5.

Selectpersons agreed to add the amendment to clarify the promotion process for this case only. The amendment will be reviewed and discussed in future contract negotiations, LaFreniere said.

It clarifies the point system and passing grades on written and oral exams, which are factored together as part of the promotion process. Each part of the process carries a percentage that is added together with the other percentages to determine? the score of the applicant.

According to the amendment, the passing grade for the written sergeant’s exam will be 60 rather than 75. A passing grade for oral boards will be 75. Other items factored in are college degrees, training hours and seniority.

A minimum of three years of full-time service with the Jay Police Department, within classification, shall be required for an employee to be eligible to apply for any promotion for the position of sergeant, two years for a detective position and two years for the corporal position, according to the amendment.

The parties also agreed on testing sources for the sergeant’s position and the makeup of the oral board. The latter will consist of the positions or equivalent of a supervising member of a Franklin County police department; a member of the select board or a member of the general public who has some management experience and has expressed an interest in public service; and a chief of a police department.

For the detective position, given the short period of time, the parties agreed that the written examination will be developed by a local district attorney who the department has used in the past.