Cheshire Gets Answers on Police Budget, Reviews DPW
CHESHIRE, Mass. — Interim Police Chief Timothy Garner on Tuesday followed up on questions the Select Board had last month on his proposed fiscal 2027 budget.
The proposed spending plan would bring the part-time, full-time, general expense, and chief's salary to align with area Police Departments. It would also boost the salary line from two to three full-time officers. The general expense account would go up to account for body-worn cameras that could also include a translation and a remote access "watch me" feature.
With the department adding another full-time officer to the mix, board members questioned why the part-time salary did not go down.
"I only left it there in case whoever takes my place is going to use part time to fill in what I showed you on the schedule," Garner said. "Because there is some part-time slots. But as we know it, part-time positions are going away, right? Lanesborough is eliminating all theirs July 1. So do we need them absolutely, because we're not a full time around the clock department."
He said part-timers will still be needed fill the current gaps between 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. Adding another full-time officer would leave 2 to 7 a.m. uncovered, as well as times on the weekends.
Garner also said while State Police are in town, they are not fully reliable, while acknowledging that is not their fault.
"Believe me, I love everything the State Police does for us, especially the last couple of months here, they really stepped up and helped us out. But we cannot just rely on State Police to cover the town of Cheshire because of their current territory," he said. "If we need them, we can call them and, yes, we'll be there, but depending on where they are, we don't know what that response time is going to be."
Board member Raymond Killeen asked if adding a little more pay for those who can speak a second language or have extra qualifications would help in hiring. It was deliberated it could come out of the part-time budget or the overtime as well.
The Department of Public Works Director Corey McGrath, brought his budget forward and had no questions from the board, as it was self-explanatory. The DPW budget focused mainly on shifting stuff around and not having much of an increase.
He was asked about the recycling center because there used to space by the compactor for people to leave items such as bikes for people to take, but it isn't there anymore.
McGrath said it became a hazard and since the town makes money on the metal, it can be used to help offset of the center.
He added the town recently received a grant for a Swap Shop. He has a shed that he will set up once the ground has dried. He is hoping for a volunteer to make sure people are donating items that are allowed.
"We're hoping to get a volunteer to kind of make sure that people aren't just trying to get rid of stuff without paying attention. But there's a lot of things that are thrown away, especially when people move out ... that they're in great condition and that other people can use, and at the same time, we can keep it out of our waste stream," McGrath said.
In other business, the board members noted that the wire inspector is asking for a salary increase of 18 percent.
They also spoke about a centralized training fund line that departments can draw from instead of having training costs scattered throughout individual department budgets.
Chair Shawn McGrath said the fiscal 2027 budget is tight.
"The current budget as things stand right now without any changes, would require a use of free cash of $360,000 to keep us under the 2 1/2 percent, which would leave us with a free cash balance of $317,000," he said.
Lastly, club Patriot All Terrain wants to work with the community to help develop trail systems and apply for state grant funding; the board agreed they can work with the Open Space and Recreation Committee.
Tags: cheshire_budget, fiscal 2027,
