FeedsNew chief hired for Northville
The new police chief in the City of Northville already knows his way around.
“I’ve always loved Northville,” said Gary Goss, who was chosen last week to lead the city department. “It’s like coming back home.”
Goss, the current police chief in Fowlerville, was selected from a strong pool of candidates to follow Jim Petres, who retired earlier this year after 34 years in Northville. More than 80 hopefuls applied for the job.
“(He) has extensive experience in law enforcement, including 26 years with the City of Farmington,” said Northville City Manager Pat Sullivan. “He is known for his effective leadership, professionalism and active involvement in the community. We’re very excited to have him head our police department.”
Goss has worked in the law enforcement field since 1971, when he was a police officer in Detroit. After seven years there, he went on to the Farmington Public Safety Department, where he eventually served for 26 years and two months.
It was there that he met another local public safety director—Chip Snider, who is currently the Northville Township manager.
“He was my sergeant,” Goss said.
Snider said he remembers Goss well and agreed with Sullivan’s assessment of his talents.
“He’s known for a strong background in public safety administration and leadership,” Snider said. “He’ll be a strong asset to both the police and fire department.
“His leadership abilities grew out of his early experiences with the U.S. Marine Corps,” Snider added.
Goss worked his way up the ladder in Farmington and eventually served 12 years as public safety director there. He retired in 2004 and took a position with the Michigan Sheriff’s Association. He worked there for about 18 months before he signed on to be the chief of Fowlerville, a small community in Livingston County.
“It was a good job,” he said of his position with the Sheriff’s Association, “but the bottom line is that I wanted to get back into law enforcement. I missed it.”
He’s served as the chief in Fowlerville for 10 months. He submitted his resignation there last week and their council acted on it Monday night, he said. He’s due to start in Northville in the middle of September.
“I’m really looking forward to it,” Goss said. “It’s a great department that we’ll try to make even better.”
