Paul Schlecht, a 27-year veteran, will be second in command at the Greenfield Police Department come Jan. 1.

Schlecht's promotion from captain to assistant chief was approved by the Police and Fire Commission at the Law Enforcement Center on Tuesday.

"Captain Schlecht has been an integral part of the department's re-organization," Police Chief Brad Wentlandt said. "He is very well-suited and positioned to move into the position of assistant chief."

Schlecht, who will replace Inspector Mark Wildish, who is retiring later this year, joined the department in 1984 after serving as an intern with the Middleton Police Department.

With Greenfield, Schlecht has served as a lieutenant/shift commander, detective sergeant, patrol sergeant and captain. He commands the support services division, oversees all non-uniformed functions of the department, has been the Police and Fire Commission liaison since 2008 and serves as commander of the department's special weapons and tactics team, among several other duties.

As part of the department's reorganization, the position of assistant chief was created while those of inspector and deputy inspector have been eliminated.

In addition to Schlecht's promotion, Lieutenant Jay Johnson, Sergeant David Patrick and Sergeant Michael Brunner were named captains Tuesday. They, along with Wentlandt and Schlecht, will make up the department's five-member command staff.

"The department is in a position now, where I feel we can light the torch and take off moving forward," Wentlandt said. "These three gentlemen are in the best position to move the department forward."

"The reason the (current) command staff works now is because I have a high level of trust in them," Wentlandt added. "The reason the command staff will work well is because I have a very level of trust in them and the utmost confidence in them."

Also, Officer Scott Zienkiewicz was promoted to Patrol Sergeant and officers Gregory Hoppe, Scott Simons and Dane Berghammer were moved up to detectives.

All promotions take effect Jan. 1.