Live reporting - Police

Chief Williams, Kevin Ryan

Jeff Nutting overview
budget is less than prior with the proposed cuts of the three dispatchers
statistics are continuing to climb so it is getting challenge

Williams
Dispatchers are very busy people
they watch over the visitors to the station
handle the radio transmissions and calls for service
105,000 calls per year
double dispatch was 16 hours a day, 7 days a week

with the cuts, there is now a single dispatch for most of the day
in those times where there is a lot going on, you may catch the voice recording
it is not what we want but times are tough

budget has been cut over the years
we never did get to the 55 officers that at one time we were allocated

over 41,000 incidents
over 4,000 motor vehicle citations
over 400 major motor vehicle accidents
I don't have to tell you about the traffic in our town, 140 and other streets
70,000 people come through the town every day

over a $250,000 less this year than last year

Franklin demographically, we are over $500,000 less than comparable towns
We do more with less, we are lower in manpower
FBI stats show we should have 62 officers, we have 45

grants have upgraded technology so we can get things out very fast
as a result of using the technology, we have been able to make arrests in the two recent armed robberies
what we have lacked in manpower we have made up in technology

grant money from enhanced 911 system will allow us to keep another dispatcher on duty
so instead of cutting three we should have cut four

we do a lot with the money we are looking for tonight

Teixeira
can you tell us about the detail work around town?
Williams
Details are not reflected in this budget, this is outside of our operations and paid for by the contractors and utilities who need the service, it does give us additional feet on the street, an extra set of eyes and ears
Teixeira
so from a tax payer perspective, it is neutral
Williams
Well actually we make a little, not a whole lot but we do get some
Cameron
what if it is a Town detail
Nutting
We charge at the Town rate, not the outside rate
Cameron
my son just finished the DARE program and he loved it
Williams
we love the program, we have four officers in the schools, you can't put a price tag on what we head off by getting into the relationships very early in the youth, guys are coaching football, hockey and lacrosse.

Williams
we are also loosing the parking control officer, the downtown area will not see the presence there
we will provide some coverage but it won't be the same

Cameron
How about regionalization with dispatch
Williams
we have been looking at it, there are things we can do and look at that will help
MA is unique in having so many communities and local control
We are one of the largest groups in the area, I am willing to take on additional but you can see the budget
I need people to do that

Roche
What is the safety equipment needed?
Williams
we took the bullet proof vest out of the operating budget and put into to capital budget
occasionally when we get into a scuffle, something gets cut or damage

Nutting
we appropriated $36,000 for safety vests for all officers

Roche
What about the Quinn bill impact
Williams
right now that is up in the air
10% to 20% above the base for earning a degree
the State has stopped paying, there are court cases reviewing this, it is a mess at the moment
an educated officer is the best one Franklin can get
less issues as a result of an educated officer? No, we don't want to go back

Nutting
it is also a matter of collective bargaining, and we'll be getting into it in the next couple of months

motion to approve, passed 8-1 (Roche, dangerously low)


Franklin, MA