|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
At the first public hearing about a potential Proposition 2 ½ override, the Board of Selectmen heard from the fire and police chiefs about their departments’ needs as well as factors impacting their budgets.
Fire Chief Robert Parsons said at the “bare minimum,” his department requires eight people providing 24- hour coverage. The average work week for these individuals is 42 hours.
He emphasized the importance of keeping four firefighters paid by a three-year grant on the payroll once it runs out.
Parsons also spoke about the difficulty of finding people to be “on call,” firefighters. Ten years ago, he said, the department had 55 and now there are 27.
“No one is knocking on our door to be call firefighters,” Parsons said.
He outlined response times ranging from a low of one minute, 42 seconds (238 calls) to 11 minutes (31 calls) and pointed out how so far this year, there have been 1,412 calls , compared to a total of 383 calls in 2013.
Parsons noted if no one is working the second shift, they would have to rely on firefighters “on call,” and as the statistics showed, it takes them much longer to respond. He said he could not emphasize enough the importance of always having two people in the building.
“It would be a disservice to the residents of Spencer to lose that coverage,” said Selectman Jared Grigg.
Selectman Ralph Hicks agreed that public safety should be at the top of the town’s priority list. “It’s common sense. You are a town of 12,000 people…and it has to be addressed by having enough people to get a truck out the door immediately.”
Board members spoke about Insurance Services Office (ISO) ratings evaluating how a fire department services its community. The scale from one to 10 affects the insurance rates homeowners pay. Spencer has a 4 score, the chief described as “pretty good.” (The lower the score, the better). A lot of factors go into the rating such as equipment, maintenance, dispatch, hose testing, etc. as well as response times.
Other needs Parsons addressed included replacing Engine 1 and Engine 4 with one new engine, noting they are 1994 and 1995 models. Replacing the 51-year-old station is another matter. Parsons said that any work that is done triggers building code issues—”something you do not want to put on a building of that age.” He said it would cost more than $3 million to do work on the fire station as it sits. A new facility could cost $15 to $30 million, using examples from nearby towns.
Grigg said potential changes to Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) guidelines could financially “devastate a lot of communities.” He said the guidelines are being reworked to make them “extremely health conscious and firefighter focused,” positive things, but said they would be difficult requirements to meet.
“When it does come down, it is going to be intense,” he said.
“We’re going to be on the struggle bus for sure,” Parsons added. He noted that some small towns will have to “fold up,” their departments and contract for services.
Town Administrator Jeff Bridges said it is one thing to know costs, but the question is how to pay for them. “This thing (OSHA) is on top of everything else going on…Firefighter safety is a positive thing but struggle within 2 ½, that’s the challenge.”
Parsons said the requirements will mean extensive additional training and he foresees losing some of the 27 on call firefighters who will not have time for that.
Police department needs outlined
Police Chief Michael Befford said the department’s organizational chart had not changed since 1998 except with the addition of a school resource officer.
Befford said two issues on the rise are mental health and fraud calls. Mental health calls totaled 88 in 2014 and 151 at the end of 2023. He said trying to “negotiate with the person and try to help them,” is time-consuming and could take several hours if the individual must be taken to the hospital.
Elderly people, Befford noted, are falling victim to scam artists and some individuals lose their life savings. Last week, he said, officers responded to a person who gave scammers a box of gift cards worth a lot of money. The scammers continued to communicate with the person via Facebook while the police were there.
Domestic calls are also increasing.
Befford said the department has new “look to the future,” patches. To do that, he said, staff must be increased to meet the needs of the community. His request is for three officers—one day shift, one overnight shift and a second detective.
“In the end, we’ll do our job,” Befford said.
Capital items associated with new personnel would include another cruiser, three portable radios, tasers, firearms and a new cruiser.
He also requested an addition to the 1983 headquarters to provide for more storage, a conference room and offices and a smaller building out back where they could put two cruisers.
Selectman Anthony Pepe said he is looking for trends and data about overrides dating back to 2014. He said the average successful override totaled $650,000; school departments comprised 30% of override requests; and losses accounted for 50/50 of requests.
Pepe suggested they have a long-range plan and spread out requests over every few years rather than asking for one large amount at once.
The highway and utilities & facilities departments will discuss their needs at the next special override-related meeting on Wednesday, October 2 at 6 p.m.
