Selectmen Review Police, Fire Budgets

UPDATE: During Wednesday night's meeting, selectmen discussed the Fire budget with command personnel. Among the new items in the budget are two brand-new defibrillators which will cost a total $65,000.

Deputy Fire Chief Paul Leischner explained the department will need to replace several of the department's defibrillators over the next few years.

Fire Chief Kevin Breen explained increases in pay for personnel through his budget as well as increases in retirement costs. For just fire suppression, that increase is $169,000.

Replacement pay in the budget for fire suppression stayed relatively similar to the present year at about $859,000. 

Breen said maintaining 15-person staffing for all shifts was a priority in the 2013 budget. Effective June 30 of this year, Breen said he was able to get all shifts back to that full staffing. One shift had run with 13 members of the department.

Selectman Stephen Campbell questioned one there were two fewer firefighters in the budget and two more paramedics. Town Manager Keith Hickey said this was due to the number of ambulance calls the town receives and provide a "higher level of service" as a result.

ORIGINAL STORY: Selectmen began their 2013 budget review Wednesday night and spent much of the evening discussing budgets for the Police and Fire Departments.

Town Manager Keith Hickey explained that the overall budget for the Police Department would be going up a total of $793,000 over the present year. 

Much of this increase is due to three reasons. First, the new Police Union contract eliminates sick leave buy-back, which is moved into base pay for those union members. Second, police will be providing the full cost of School Resource Officers in their budget with revenues coming from the school district. Third, police are seeing an increase in retirement costs.

Selectman Stephen Campbell asked about the across-the-board 6 percent increase in personnel costs for the entire town budget, and why that increase was happening with the new union contracts.

Hickey noted an overall $320,000 increase in retirement costs.

"That increase was not known in 2011 when we discussed contracts," Hickey said.

He also noted a proposed increase in health insurance for 10 percent. He said the contracts will have "savings that will come in years to come."

"Personnel cost is what's making everything we have to do so difficult to afford," Campbell said.

Selectmen asked various questions about personnel for police, including the importance of positions such as records clerks and the investigative clerk who deals with pawn slips that was saved in the present year budget.

Campbell reiterated a position from last year about the SROs, questioning why, if something were to happen to an SRO on the job, the town would have to pay for that officer's disability with no responsibility for the school. 

Selectmen Chair Pat Hargreaves said that topic would be discussed further at their Sept. 17 meeting. 

Deputy Police Chief Shawn Patten discussed the lease program proposed for 12 new frontline police cruisers as part of the department's capital plan. In 2010, Patten said the department began a leasing program and anticipated needing 15 new vehicles in 2013, but instead the need is only for 12.

Prior to discussing police, selectmen also went over budgets for Human Resources, selectmen, town manager and legal.

Of note was a discussion about $23,500 budgeted for continued membership in the Local Government Center. Campbell, with Selectman Everett McBride in agreement, said he plans to move to strike that amount from the budget.

I"'m against being in LGC particularly now we don't have insurance in them," Campbell said. "I'll make a motion to withdraw."

Check Salem Patch later today for a report on the board's review of the Fire Department budget.