LITTLETON BOARD OF SELECTMEN
WORK SESSION
SEPTEMBER 19, 2006
LITTLETON TOWN OFFICE CONFERENCE ROOM

Present: Chairman George Hicks, selectman Burt Ingerson, Selectman Ed Farrell, Interim Town Manager Tony Mincu, Executive Assistant Cheryl Sargent, Finance Director Karen Noyes, Police Chief Cam Brown

Chairman George Hicks opened the work session at 2:00 pm and turned the meeting over to Tony Mincu.

Tony stated that the purpose the Selectmen have called this meeting is to discuss Chief Brown’s memo to Tony dated Friday, September 15, 2006 regarding a decision he made to pull patrol cars off the road except to respond to calls. The Board would like to know how Chief Brown made this decision and the thought process leading to his decision. Tony pointed out that the receipt of the e-mail came on Friday afternoon but he did not see it until Monday morning because he was on vacation on Friday. He added that in an earlier conversation with Chief Brown he had told him that he would not be in the office on Friday.

Chief Brown stated he became aware that he only had $800 left in his fuel budget for the rest of the year which averaged out to about $56 per week. He noted he has been mandated to come in under budget this year and the decision was made to pull the cruisers until he could meet with Karen and go over the budget line items again.

Selectman Farrell noted that in Chief Brown’s memo he had state that he hoped to avoid another layoff. Selectman Farrell asked Chief Brown if he considers administration more important that the need for patrol. Chief Brown stated that both of these items are important in their own right. He stated that his decision was a short term stop gap measure to save his budget.

Selectman Farrell stated that this is not acceptable and the Town cannot put public safety in jeopardy. We cannot be taking officers off the street. Selectman Ingerson and Chairman Hicks both agrees with Selectman Farrell.

Tony suggested that a bi-weekly check on the PD budget will identify items which are in danger of going over and will give everyone a chance to react and take appropriate measures. Tony added this can be done at the bi-weekly Department head meetings.

Karen Noyes and Chief Brown presented for review an estimated projection using budget and adjustment to date (copy attached). The revised PD budget cuts $31,307.52 which the Chief feels leaves enough of a buffer in his budget to cover some unforeseeable items.

Tony asked the Chief what his understanding is of how much overtime his department has to work with. Chief Brown responded that his understanding is that he has approximately $4,000/month or 28 hours/week.

Ton Kennedy, Chairman of the Citizens’ Advisory Committee, stated that it is his understanding that from Friday afternoon until today the Town of Littleton has had no patrol coverage.

Chief Brown stated that some foot patrols have been done as well as some business checks.

Mr. Kennedy stated that this is a serious situation, there was no pro-active patrol done over the weekend. The patrol officers were told to stay in the station unless they were specifically called out. He said that this directive from the Chief defies all logic.

Art Tighe stated that in a meeting on the Wednesday prior to this Friday afternoon decision of the Chief’s he did not sense any urgency regarding the fuel line item of the PD budget. He asked what had changed between Wednesday and Friday. There was no response to his question.

Tom Kennedy asked what steps were put in place such as other local PDs being notified that there was going to be no patrol in Littleton. Chief Brown stated that other police departments were not advised.

Alden Beal asked the Selectmen what measures or steps are being put in place to prevent this from happening again.

Selectmen Farrell stated it would not happen again. Chairman Hicks stated that a break down in communication had contributed to this and this has been a problem in the past. Communication has to be improved.

Mr. Kennedy state it boggles his mind that a decision of this magnitude was made by the Police chief with no notification to the Town Manager or board of Selectmen. He added the Selectmen need to explain to the community what and how this happened and what steps will be take to prevent this from happening again in the future.

Karen Noyes stated she needs the Selectmen to accept the Police Department budget cut as outlined in today’s meeting.

Selectman Farrell moved to approve the cut of $31,307.52 from the Police Department budget. The motion was seconded by selectman Ingerson and carried 3-0.

Eddy Moore stated that as a member of the budget committee he is concerned that the Resource Officer’s time is not being used as efficiently as it could be. Selectmen Ingerson stated that he and Tony had talked with school officials on the possibility of Mr. Keeney being used on Main Street after school hours. Chief Brown stated that he was never told that this had been discussed or that re-deployment of any of his employees might take place.

Mr. Kennedy asked that the Selectmen consider a budget oversight committee which could study and assess the town budget throughout the year. This might help deter any crisis such as we are undergoing now. Mr. Kennedy stated that this was a suggestion made by Dan Cullen and that the Selectmen should speak to him about this.

Chairman Hicks asked Karen Noyes why we are in this predicament when the budget was revised after the town Meeting. He said that he would think that we would be ok. Karen stated that Department Heads receive monthly budget report as do the Selectmen. She added she became concerned in August when she see some line items running close to go over budget. The also added that there are some expenses which are paid out in one lump sums which can change the budget drastically from one month to another.

The meeting adjourned at 2:50 pm.

Respectfully submitted,
Cheryl Sargent
Executive Assistant

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Chairman George O. Hicks

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Selectman Burton E. Ingerson

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Selectman Edward Farrell