Police Committee Minutes 4-5-2022

Police Committee Minutes 4-5-2022

RUTLAND TOWN SELECTBOARD COMMITTEE MEETING

POLICE COMMITTEE

TUESDAY APRIL 5^th, 2022

The Police Committee of the Rutland Town Selectboard met at 9:00 AM on Tuesday April 5^th at the Rutland Town Municipal Town Hall. Present was Board Clerk Joe Denardo, Town Police Chief Ed Dumas, Town Deputy Police Chief Ted Washburn, and Town Administrative Assistant Bill Sweet. There was a conference call line with a publicly accessible and warned phone number in use.

• Discussed the status of the Police Budget.
  1. There were some big changes last March made to the Police Budget, mainly pulling Chief Dumas out of CFAC, and losing the reimbursement received which offset the Police Chief salary.
  2. The salary lines for the patrol officers need to have some balances transferred between the two, due to 2 officers being paid from the same line. This will allow the balances to be reflected correctly.
  3. The Police Admin has been doing a lot of additional work due to the call volume at the Cortina Inn and trying to keep records straight with VSP making changes to some of the case information. There is approximately $3800 left in the admin salary line. This position is being funded as a full-time position in the next budget. A deficit is expected to occur in this line due to the current workload.
  4. The call volume at the Cortina Inn is a large part of the issue with case load.
  5. Any overtime which has been needed has been directly related to a case.
  6. There are no purchases being made which are not necessary.
  7. A department budget deficit is not anticipated.
• Discussed our current body cameras.
  1. There is a lot of emphasis on having body cameras.
  2. Our department has had them since 2017.
  3. Our current system and cameras are no longer being supported.
  4. There is a grant available for a new camera system. It requires a 50% local match.
  5. A quote was received from the vendor who we currently deal with, for a total of approximately $34,000. This would be for 8 new cameras and licensing. There is sufficient funds in the depreciation account to cover the match.
  6. We need to apply for the grant before May 20^th.
• Discussed a large grant opportunity.
  1. We need to submit a questionnaire before April 15^th to be eligible.
  2. We may be able to get up to $1 million dollars.
  3. A letter of support is needed from the Board.
  4. Grant awards from this could allow us to reduce the amount we need to borrow for the Public Safety Building.
  5. The grant requires a 25% local match.
  6. An additional grant opportunity is being researched to cover the costs of a cascade system, gear washer and gear dryer for the new building.
• Discussed the future of dispatching services for the county.
  1. Our Selectboard signed a letter of support at a recent meeting.
  2. A suitable location still needs to be found.
  3. Funding and towns participation is still something the county committee is working on.
  4. As more information becomes available it will be brought back.

The meeting adjourned at 9:50AM.

Respectfully submitted, Bill Sweet