New officer, cars dominate discussion of police budget

Written by Macklin Reid, Press Staff
Wednesday, 29 February 2012 05:22

Refilling an officer’s position empty since 2008, replacing radio dispatch equipment, and new cars — six for police patrols, one for animal control — were the focus of budget discussions between Police Chief John Roche and the Board of Selectmen recently.

The Police Department’s $4.9 million operating budget request for 2012-13 seeks restoration of an officer’s position left unfilled for five years. It also incorporates annual police car replacements that previously had been in the capital budget.

It is part of a $32 million budget request to the selectmen that would increase spending on town departments by 2.95% next year.

Three veteran officers retired earlier this year, and are being replaced with new hires at the bottom of the pay scale. So the open position can be refilled without distorting the department’s “pay structure,” Chief Roche told the selectmen Tuesday, Feb. 7.

The added officer’s salary is a little over $59,000. With that and other contracted raises and increases, the full time salaries account for “police patrol” would go from about $3,368,000 this year to $3,443,000 in the new budget — up about $75,000.

“Hiring this person does not at the juncture impact us greatly,” Chief Roche said.

Selectwoman Di Masters wondered about Chief Roche’s description of the unfilled spot as “Richie’s position” — meaning that of former Police Chief Richard Ligi, who died in office in September 2008. “You are the chief?” she said.

Yes, Chief Roche confirmed, the chief’s office had indeed been filled. But the chain of promotions that followed had left an empty starting patrolman’s job open at the bottom — it was “frozen” amid the town’s budget struggles of 2008 — and that’s the slot the department now proposes to refill.

The biggest addition to the police operating budget is $149,000 for car replacements. In previous years police cars had been paid for as part of the capital budget. But the Board of Finance objected: since the history was to buy several new cruisers each year, it made no sense for them to be in the capital budget — paid for mostly with borrowing. They’d be more appropriate in the operating budget.

The $149,000 is expected to buy four cruisers at a little over $26,000 each, and also pay for two leased vehicles at $22,000 each.

The $149,000 for cars amounts to more than half of the department’s $258,000 increase from $4,636,000 this year to $4,894,000 next year.

“The bottom line is we have a 5.56% increase, and that’s really driven by the cars,” Chief Roche said.

With efforts to revive the $5 million police station renovation project pushed back into the 2014-15 fiscal year, the department’s main capital request this year is $235,000 to replace outdated equipment in the dispatching center.

The radio console now used is still functional, but it’s no longer being manufactured. Finding repair parts has become increasingly problematic.

“What we’re doing is literally robbing junkyards to keep the equipment going,” Chief Roche said.

The long-term vision for the dispatch center — in a few years, as part of the police station renovation — is to separate it from the department’s “front desk” operation and possibly combine with fire dispatching.

The selectmen asked if the equipment and software could handle combined police and fire dispatching.

“It’s capable of doing all dispatching,” Chief Roche said. “Nineteen towns do fire and police dispatching with this system.”

When Fire Chief Heather Burford had been in to talk to the selectmen, the night before, she too had some computer-assisted dispatching equipment and software in her capital budget.

First Selectmen Rudy Marconi told the other selectmen that upgrading the dispatching console had waited too long.

“If we’re not going to do anything on the building for two years, and we’re not going to do regional anymore, we need to address this,” Mr. Marconi said.

Another source of lively discussion was the request for a new vehicle for the animal control officer, who is a mostly independent operation though under the police chief’s authority.

The vehicle cost is estimated at $30,000, and the selectmen were told it has low-mileage but old and rusting.

“It’s a shame, a car with 39,000 miles on it, in this kind of shape,” Selectmen Andy Bodner said.

“Any reason, considering the mileage, not to buy a two or three year old used van?”

“Is it unsafe? It says the underside has rust. Has rust?” Selectwoman Maureen Kozlark asked. “It just seems a lot to spend on a vehicle that doesn’t get that much use.”