Police Commission Invites Selectmen To Hearing
Madison- The Board of Police Commissioners will hold a hearing tonight (Thursday) and it has issued an invitation to the members of the boards of selectmen and finance “to address the threshold question of police services and staffing levels.”
The letter and the stated topic for the hearing are another public indication of the strained relationship that has developed between the police commissioners and the other two local boards as the commission continues to press forward with its efforts to add more personnel to the Police Department.
The letter, written by Commissioner Michael Heaney, says, “We will...address the threshold question of police services and staffing levels. We hope to devote this hearing to understanding the precise basis on which a majority of you made a judgment in each of the last two budget cycles not to adopt the Police Commission's recommendations, but rather to cut our town's police staffing level by 15 percent, and at the same time significantly reduce overtime funding.”
Through the past two fiscal years the commission has sought to add five police officers to the department, contending that the staffing level should be at 29 certified officers in addition to the police chief. Both the selectmen and the finance board, at budget times, have recommended staffing levels of 25 officers including the chief.
While the selectmen and finance board contend that this staffing model is sufficient, the commission has argued that the town is growing, that the present staffing levels are below those of past years, and that the responsibility for the proper running of the Police Department rests with the commissioners.
Heaney's letter continues, “In our view, none of you has publicly offered detailed data, factual evidence, or a persuasive and grounded rationale for making the judgments (on staffing levels) or for declining to adopt our recommendations. That is not to say that there are no such facts or rationales. It is to say that we do not believe you have publicly made a case for what you have chosen to do in this regard, especially in a way that can be fairly and objectively weighed and assessed by commission members and the town's electors.”
Fillmore McPherson, chairman of the Board of Finance, said last week that he will not be attending the hearing. He added, “Mr. Heaney's got it backward. It is the responsibility of the Police Commission to make its case for increased personnel and expenditures, which they have not done, in our view.”