Hooksett has been without a permanent police chief for a year. For all anyone outside the Police Commission knows, the town could go without a chief for another year. Last week, the Town Council gave an official vote of no confidence in the commission. A reasonable reaction to that vote would be: “What took you so long?”

The Hooksett PD has been in turmoil for years. How many of the department’s problems can be directly attributed to former Chief Stephen Agrafiotis, who was placed on administrative leave last September and resigned in January, is unclear — partly because the commission has been so stingy with information. Even if everything was the former chief’s fault, that does not explain why the department has been left in limbo for so long.

A review presented to the town last November by outside consulting firm Public Safety Strategies Group found numerous flaws, including an arbitrary discipline system, poor communications, bad morale, inappropriate spending and lax supervision of patrol officers. When the council discussed whether to give the commission a vote of no confidence last week, some councilors said the vote was unwarranted because the commission has been dealing with the issues outlined in the report. But that should be the job of the chief of police, not the commission — the chief the commission never bothered to get around to hiring.

Acting Chief Jon Daigle, a longtime Hooksett police captain who had aspired to the top job, seemed to have made real progress in fixing the department’s numerous problems. Sadly, last month he asked to be relieved of his duties as acting chief. In his letter, he cited the commission’s failure not only to make progress on hiring a new permanent chief, but even to give him goals, communicate with him and evaluate his job performance as required.

The public has been left almost entirely in the dark about the reforms and the search (if any) for a permanent chief. There is no justification for the delays or the silence.

The council’s vote was a tough one, but it seems entirely justified. Hooksett’s officers and citizens deserve better service from the commission, and it is hard to have confidence that this one can provide it.