Police Committee Minutes 12-18-2020

Publish date: December 21, 2020

Police Committee 12-18-2020

RUTLAND TOWN SELECT BOARD

POLICE COMMITTEE MEETING

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 18th, 2020

The Police Committee of the Rutland Town Select Board met at 11:30 AM on Friday December 18th at the Rutland Town Municipal Town Hall. Present was Board Chair Mary Ashcroft, Board Member John Paul Faignant, Administrative Assistant Bill Sweet, Town Police Chief Ed Dumas, and Town Deputy Police Chief Ted Washburn. There was a conference call line with a publicly accessible and warned phone number in use.

  • The committee discussed the contract with Omya.
    • There were some discrepancies found with the billing for FY 2019 / 2020. DC Washburn contacted them and determined there were approximately $4500 in unpaid invoices.
    • It was found the billing has been moved to an over seas branch of their company causing some of the issue.
    • These bills are still waiting to be processes and DC Washburn expects to hear back from them at the end of this week as to when we should expect to be paid.
    • Omya has requested the current contract be renewed for the upcoming year. Chief Dumas and DC Washburn both feel the department is not able to adequately provide the coverage currently. The contract initially benefited the town and its officers, but current staffing levels and other priorities make it difficult to continue.
    • The committee will recommend to the full board the contract not be renewed for 2021 to allow the department to focus its efforts on the Town of Rutland.
  • STOP (Services, Training, Officers, Prosecutors) Grant opportunity
    1. Chief Dumas reviewed some of the topics and areas this grant covers including domestic violence and abuse investigations.
    2. The grant award is for $24,990 and comes from crime victims services.
    3. The towns portion is $8189 and can include time, cruiser costs, training and other in-kind costs.
    4. There is a requirement for Chief Dumas to work with Officer Houle 1.5 hours per week for training.
    5. DC Washburn thanked Gene Nelson who assisted him with the grant process.
    6. Chief Dumas brought up a recent case investigated by Officer Houle which resulted in a emergency order being granted to help protect a young girl in the community. Chief Dumas said Officer Houle did a fantastic job with the investigation
    7. This grant would be used to help train and pay for work done by Officer Houle.
    8. The committee will recommend to the full board to accept the STOP grant.
  • Hold harmless policy – new use of force law
    1. The draft policy was sent to the towns attorney for review.
    2. A full review has not been received from him. Once this has been sent back, the committee will review it.
    3. This is in reference to new legislature, S119.
    4. In the future it will be referred to as an indemnity agreement.
  • DC Washburn discussed a recent visit to their officer by Select Board member Sharon Russell. She commented on the lack of space they have to be able to operate in.
    1. DC Washburn has spoken to several other police chiefs around the state about their facility and possible funding sources.
    2. There is a grant opportunity coming in January of 2021 which would allow for the purchase of infrastructure of security devices. This grant would not require a match.
    3. DC Washburn asked if there has been any further discussion around the replacement of the McKinley Avenue fire station as an emergency services building. No recent meetings have been held to discuss it.
  • DC Washburn brought up changes in service proposed by the Vermont State Police dispatch center.
    1. Currently VSP is the “holding station” for agency data bases which require 24-hour access.
    2. They are proposing to stop being the holding station and require individual agencies to take on the responsibility.
    3. It is currently only a proposal. If it goes into effect it would require us to operate 24 / 7 due to the requirement of access to these records.
    4. The only alternative would be to have Rutland City Police act as the holding station on our behalf.
    5. Ms. Ashcroft asked DC Washburn to keep the committee updated on this.
  • The enforcement of fireworks violations was discussed.
    1. The Vermont State Supreme Court ruled that private individuals cannot light off fireworks. It can only be done by people that are licensed to do so.
    2. The fire chief recently approved a permit, it is not known currently if the permit can remain in effect.
    3. Ms. Ashcroft will discuss the matter further with the town attorney.
  • DC Washburn said the department is in the beginning stages of changing the software they complete their reports on. By February of 2021 they will be on the new system .
    1. It is expected to be a cost savings by making this change.
    2. Several police departments in the area are already using it.
    3. There will be 2 days of web-based training for the staff.

 

The meeting adjourned at 12:15 PM

Respectfully submitted, Bill Sweet

Rutland Town News

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