TOWN OF SOUTH WINDSOR
WORK SESSION MINUTES
TOWN COUNCIL MONDAY, APRIL 2, 2012
COUNCIL CHAMBERS TIME: 7:00 P.M.
1. Call Meeting to Order
Mayor Delnicki called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.
2. Roll Call
Members Present: Mayor Tom Delnicki
Deputy Mayor Gary Bazzano
Councillor M. Saud Anwar
Councillor Cindy Beaulieu
Councillor Ed Havens
Councillor Kevin McCann
Councillor Cary Prague
Councillor Janice Snyder
Councillor Keith Yagaloff
Also Present: Matthew B. Galligan, Town Manager
3. Public Participation
None
4. Communications
None
5. Town Manager’s Report
Mr. Galligan reported on the following items:
- The Town Council should have received all of the budget information that had been requested at the last meeting. Some of the numbers are assumptions on the five year plan.
- An article on the dashboad was given to the Town Council.
- As Town Departments talk about their budgets, they will discuss their staffing levels. What staffing levels were five years ago and what they would like presently.
- The CCM Executive Board has asked me to be the Second Vice President of the Board.
ITEM:
6. Items for Discussion
A. Town Council’s Budget Presentation
Town Manager, Matthew B. Galligan explained that one item that has been eliminated from the budget was COST which was for $1,100. Mr. Galligan requested that the personnel committee let him know the number that needs to be put into the Council Clerk’s salary.
B. Town Manager’s Budget Presentation
Mr. Galligan requested that a full time position be put into his budget for an Administrative Secretary.
Answering questions from the Council, Mr. Galligan explained that his office would be going to the staffing levels that they were in 2002 but instead of two part time positions there would be one full time position. Health care costs would increase due to this position. The funding for this position would be covered under the Town Manager’s Office and Central Services.
Mayor Delnicki questioned the $214,000 from 2011/2012 in part time wages? Mr. Galligan stated that he would get the break down of that number for the Council.
Mr. Galligan explained that programs could be reviewed to help reduce costs with the healthcare and pension plans. One item that has attributed to higher costs in healthcare is that there have been a lot of claims. The attribute to the cost of the pension plan is defined benefit and that is because of the market.
Councillor Anwar stated that a five year summary is helpful and then questioned how the 18% reduction in capital projects will impact the Town’s infrastructure? Mr. Galligan explained that on the last pavement report, the number have gone up on having better roads in Town. In the last two years there have been reductions in paving in order to not affect any other services. It is now being proposed to put $250,000 per year in that fund for future use.
Mayor Delnicki requested that the Town Manager show where all the funding would come from to allow a full time position in his office.
C. Boards & Commissions Budget Presentation
Mr. Galligan explained that there will be no increase in these budgets.
ITEM:
6. Items for Discussion
- Police Department’s Budget Presentation
Chief Matthew Reed from the Police Department came forward to present the 2012/2013 Police Department’s budget. Chief Reed explained that he prepared a packet of information for the Council consisting of a Table of Organization for the Police Department (Exhibit A), Calls for Service from 1998 through 2011 (Exhibit B) and Attrition Forecast (Exhibit C) which is officers that meet the eligibility requirements for retirement or will in the next year. This year’s proposed budget is $5,614,713 which is a $172,000 increase over the current year budget which 3.2% increase. The increases in this proposal are driven primarily due to contractual salary increases for our union employee’s and an anticipated increase in the cost of gasoline. The proposed budget does not include the restoration
of the two police officer positions that were removed in 2009. Our current authorized strength of sworn officers is 41, but due to a retirement and resignation has reduced our sworn officers to 39. One of those officers remains on extended medical leave which leaves us with a total active force of 38 officers. The Police Department is currently in the process of accepting applications for our vacant positions and hope to have new police officers in the Police Academy this fall. The attrition forecast shows the Police Departments most senior personnel, those who could potentially retire in the coming year. Should any of these employees decide to retire, the Police Department will be challenged with not only with the loss of senior leadership but another vacancy. There are more than 35,000 calls for service per year since 2008. Operating costs have been controlled by focusing on staffing our patrol section and ensuring there is an adequate
number of personnel on the road twenty-four hours a day. There has been a reduction in the size of the Traffic Safety Enforcement Unit and as of April 15th the Special Enforcement Unit will be eliminated. This unit’s activities will be dispersed among Criminal Investigations Unit and our Patrol Units. These changes are not beneficial to the overall policing of South Windsor but they are necessary. The radio console needs to be replaced which was not included in the upgrades that happened two years ago. The console that exists was put into place more than a decade ago as a temporary measure when the department’s original console failed. This was done to reduce costs and it was hopeful at that time funding would become available to replace that console which never happened. We have had periodic malfunctions and the console has failed. If the budget as presented tonight is not cut any further it is believed that
working with the radio vendor to purchase or arrange a lease purchase to install the equipment necessary to replace the current radio console. This is a critical system and must be replaced as soon as possible.
ITEM:
6. D. (Continued)
Answering questions from the Council, Chief Reed explained that the new radio console system itself is just over $220,000 but do reconfigure the whole dispatch center would cost approximately $410,000 total. The employees that were lost have been very recent and there would not be a large difference in costs yet. The person on medical leave is not being paid a salary but do receive benefits. Unemployment Compensation is also being paid but that is not included in the Police Department’s budget.
Chief Reed explained that the Police Department has a very good relationship with the radio vendor who has said he would install the equipment necessary and is willing to accept a lease purchase agreement. Chief Reed then explained that from year to year there is not a large difference in the number of calls of service but the calls for service do seem to increase in cycles. The different calls for service can consist of house fire, medical assistance, robbery, ticket, directing traffic for a funeral. Every task a Police Officer performs is considered a call for service. Chief Reed stated that he feels there is some correlation between the number of staffing to the number of calls because one of the generators for calls for service is our Traffic Safety Enforcement Unit because their job is to write
speeding tickets, traffic enforcement and that unit has been reduced by one employee. The speeding signs does control traffic in some areas but when people find out there is not a ticket associated with their speeding the Police Department finds that they may not be as effective as the Police Department would like them to be. The speeding signs do give a good number of how many cars on the roadway and an idea of what the speeds are on the particular road.
Councillor McCann felt that the radio console should either be placed on the capital projects list or if a bonding referendum is done, the Town Council should make sure this item is covered.
Councillor Havens stated that he would be supporting this budget and feels that the Police Department does a good job.
Councillor Yagaloff questioned how the Police Department would pay for the construction costs of the dispatch area? Chief Reed explained that there have been some buy out options for the cell tower the sits behind the Police Department to help fund the project.
Councillor Yagaloff stated that his concern is that he does not want the Police Department to cut into the operations budget in order to pay for a capital project. Councillor Yagaloff said he would be supporting this budget fully.
At 8:00 p.m. Mayor Delnicki recessed the Work Session in order to call the Regular Meeting to order. The Work Session reconvened at 8:18 p.m.
ITEM:
6. D. (Continued)
Mayor Delnicki questioned what happened with the Regional Dispatch Center?
Chief Reed explained that there was a study commissioned by the State this past year that was completed that examined the feasibility of regional communications throughout the State. The study recommended that in addition to the State Police Center there be three other dispatch centers to cover the entire State. That is a lot of communication centers. The feasibility study done agrees that it is something that should be done and communities that have the resources should ban together and have regional communications which would reduce long term costs. Initially it would be very costly because you would have union issues, personnel issues, upfront equipment costs and long term maintenance. Manchester is relocating their communications center and they are going to overbuild it so there will
be opportunities for some regionalization there.
Chief Reed explained that after the Hartford Distributors incident there was an opportunity to purchase a Regional Mobile Command post which will replace the existing command post that has been being used. The radio console is also used for calls for the South Windsor Ambulance Corps., South Windsor Fire Department and the Town Highway Department. Any services in Town that have radios in their vehicles, the Police Department have their frequency and have access to them. The same vendor that the Police Department is in discussions with has outfitted Vernon and in the process of upgrading Manchester. This will allow South Windsor to have communications across Town lines.
Mayor Delnicki thanked the Police Department for all the work that they do.
7. Executive Session
None
8. Adjournment
At 8:25 p.m. Deputy Mayor Bazzano made a motion to adjourn the Work Session. Councillor Prague seconded the motion and it was approved, unanimously.
Respectfully submitted,
Deborah W. Reid
Recording Secretary
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