BRATTLEBORO — Police Chief Michael Fitzgerald has good news about the Brattleboro Police Department's finances and operations. For Fiscal Year 2020, costs are going down by $1,125, signifying a 0.1 percent reduction from the department's FY19 budget.
Revenue is also estimated to go down by just over 11 percent, but nearly all of this reduction will provide some relief to overworked officers.
Fitzgerald appeared at the budget-related special Selectboard meeting on Nov. 13 to provide details and figures on his department's proposed FY20 budget. He will attend future budget work sessions throughout the season.
Although building maintenance costs went down by $25,700 in the police department's portion of the budget, those figures are now in the facility maintenance section.
Town Manager Peter B. Elwell explained that the reduction in budgets “occurs not just at the police department, but also at the municipal center, the library, and the transportation center.”
The newly-created line item, “facilities maintenance,” covers these buildings' budgets.
Fitzgerald is keeping some funds in his budget, however, to cover upkeep, annual tests, and unanticipated expenses at the police facility at 62 Black Mountain Road. Grounds maintenance - landscaping, snow removal, and similar activities - at the new building will cost taxpayers an additional $2,000 in FY20.
Telephone costs and equipment maintenance are going up, too, for a combined increase of just over $16,000. This funds the department's land-lines, cellphones, the police cruisers' mobile data terminals, and the contract with Axion for the officers' body cameras.
High marks for new station
Selectboard Chair Kate O'Connor asked Fitzgerald if he and his staff are happy with the new police station.
Fitzgerald assured her they are, and he gave examples of improvements: better workflow from processing to paperwork, more privacy, more useful interviewing technology, better evidence logging and storage, and faster public service for people showing up at the station.
He described the improvements as “just phenomenal,” and added, “I haven't heard any complaints.”
O'Connor and Board Vice-Chair Brandie Starr said they also haven't heard any complaints about the new police station.
Issues around staffing saw some fluctuation, and gave Fitzgerald a chance to update the Selectboard on new officers scheduled to begin working with the department in 2019.
Auxiliary staff costs are going up by 50 percent. The extra $1,000 proposed for FY20 will mostly fund interpreters for the hard-of-hearing. This serves a demonstrated need, Fitzgerald said, explaining, “We're finding ourselves investigating more cases where we have to hire auxiliary staff.”
The “clerical” line item is reduced by $2,990 because a senior clerk retired and the new staff member is earning entry-level pay.
The chief sharply reduced the “Police Outside Revenue” line item by 46.7 percent. This cuts the department's overtime income for assigning officers to construction sites and private events, thus giving his officers “some breathing room,” Fitzgerald said.
“We've been referring those to the Windham County Sheriff's Department,” Fitzgerald said. He gave two reasons: the BPD is short-staffed, and he has directed his officers to “spend more time [in] downtown” Brattleboro.
Fitzgerald's patrol staff often work long days - between 12 and 16 hours per shift - and outside gigs can add another four hours to an officer's workday.
Reinforcements on the way
O'Connor asked if this reduction in overtime applies to municipal law-enforcement needs.
Fitzgerald assured her his officers still may log overtime hours for major incidents, court appearances, depositions, or covering colleagues' absences for trainings, vacations, and sick time. He noted he receives about $20,000-$25,000 per year from the U.S. Department of Justice to cover extra patrols downtown and in other areas in Brattleboro.
Elwell acknowledged that because the department has been understaffed for the past few years, the overtime budget has kept “enough officers on the street,” while the regular law-enforcement staff salaries expenditures budget has been lower. “We're looking forward to the day when we're back up to fully-staffed,” Elwell said.
The Brattleboro Police Department is getting closer to having a full roster.
“Currently I have three officers attending the Vermont Police Academy. Their training will be completed in March of 2019, at which time they will be assigned a shift working solo,” Fitzgerald told The Commons.
Additionally, two new officers are enrolled in the February 2019 class at the academy and will finish their training in September.
Fitzgerald explained the timeline for bringing on new officers. The academy hosts two classes of trainees per year. One training cycle starts in February, the other starts in August.
“It takes 10 months from the time they go to the academy before I get them,” he said.
Even with two officers leaving the department in January, which Fitzgerald said is part of his staff accounting, this means that if nothing else changes, “I'm one officer short, which is really great news,” he told the Selectboard.
“A year-and-a-half ago, we were eight [officers] short, so we're making really good strides,” Fitzgerald said.
It's not just quantity, though. “We're getting quality,” said Fitzgerald, who noted, “our new officers are fantastic,” and so are the five scheduled to join the department in 2019, he said.
Starr praised the department's officers, and noted she often interacts “one-on-one” with them. “They're always wonderful,” she said, and added, “you have a really good department. [...] They are caring, compassionate, and responsive.”