PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE
OF THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
January 21, 2010 Meeting
The Public Safety Committee of the Legislative Council held a meeting on Thursday, January 21, 2010 in Meeting Room 3 in the Newtown Municipal Center, 3 Primrose Street, Newtown, CT
Present: Chair John Aurelia, Dan Amaral, Gary Davis, Mary Ann Jacob,
Guests: Chief Michael Kehoe, Captain Joe Rios, Police Commissioner Duane Giannini, Police Commissioner James Viadero
The meeting was called to order at 6.45 p.m. No members of the public were present.
NEW BUSINESS
Review of Proposed Police Budget: Police Chief Kehoe presented the Committee with the proposed 2010 Police Budget that will be presented to the Board of Selectmen on Tuesday, January 26, as part of the Board’s budget discussions. The proposed budget of $4.19 million is an increase of 5.6% from last year’s approved budget. The Chief noted sworn police personnel costs were increasing 4.7% as a result of contractual increases and negotiated raises. The remaining 0.9% increase reflected primarily a request for 6 new police vehicles. The Chief indicated there were no personnel cost increases regarding civilian personnel in the budget proposal. However, contract negotiations are underway with this group and he anticipated that funds may need to be put in Contingency to cover a
possible increase in salaries and other costs as a result of completed negotiations. The Chief also noted, in an effort to keep down costs, the Department did not budget funds for maintenance of some capital items, such as replacement of outdated video cameras in police vehicles, and for traffic engineering consultants to aid the Police Commission in addressing ongoing traffic concerns.
The Chief and Commissioner Giannini discussed the need to maintain the Department’s current compliment of 47 sworn police personnel in order to continue to provide the level of service expected by the community and to keep crime rates low. They noted the investment of up to $100,000 to train and certify a new officer, which is partially lost if an officer leaves the force after a short time. They also noted that job stability of a community’s police force was an important factor in attracting new recruits the Department may seek to hire in the future.
The Chief reviewed the current situation with the Department’s police vehicles. The Department tries to retire police cruisers when they reach 80,000 miles because he has found that repair costs necessary to maintain the vehicles increase significantly around that time. However, the Department has kept some vehicles well over 110,000 miles because requests for replacement vehicles have been denied in previous budget cycles. Mrs. Jacob questioned whether some of the vehicles proposed for replacement might last an additional year, as it may be difficult to fund six new vehicles in next year’s budget. The Chief recognized the realities of this situation, but said all such a decision does is push off a needed replacement, and the same decisions are faced in the next budget cycle. The Chief said
he would welcome establishment of a fund that would allow regular replacement of these vehicles, thus assisting with better long-term planning. Mr. Davis suggested the Police Commission make this part of its long-term plan as the town gears up its long-term planning process in 2010.
CIP: The Chief briefly discussed the request for a new police facility to address the changing functional requirements of the Department, particularly due to increasing state mandates.
Next Meeting – Mr. Aurelia said he would inform members of the time and date for the next Public Safety Committee meeting.
Having no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 8:45 p.m.
Gary Davis
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