Sandwich police chief to get 3% raise as part of new contract

Sandwich Police Chief Kevin Senne will receive a 3% raise as part of a new contract with the city.

At the May 19 Sandwich City Council meeting, City Council members unanimously approved a new 12-month contract with Senne. He was hired in August 2023 after previously serving as an Elgin police commander.

The city decided not to renew the contract of Jim Bianchi, who had served as Sandwich police chief since September 2013.

Senne will receive an annual salary of $126,021 as part of the new contract, which will expire on April 30, 2026.

Sandwich Mayor Todd Latham said the city is pleased with what Senne has been able to accomplish since being hired.

“One of the things that we asked of the chief is to be more proactive about community policing and engagement,” Latham said. “He’s done a lot of outreach programs.”

He also noted Senne implemented a new police department website which contains such information as a public safety incident dashboard that provides information as to what kind of incidents the department is responding to across the city.

“There’s more information out there than before,” Latham said.

Last year, the Sandwich Police Department launched its new Walk & Talk initiative, where the police department goes into different neighborhoods.

“Residents can meet us and have conversations with us,” Senne said.

Senne said the first Walk & Talk event went well.

“We had good conversations all around,” he said. “The biggest concern is always traffic – speeding cars and people not stopping at stop signs.”

The initiative is an extension of Senne’s efforts to hear from the community since becoming Sandwich police chief. The department also has bimonthly community meetings along with Coffee With a Cop, which is held at different businesses on a rotating basis.