Two important updates re Princeton Police
The Selectboard approved the Memorandum of Agreement for a New Collective Bargaining Agreement OA Between the Town and the Princeton Police Association Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 044. The budget approved by voters at the Annual Town Meeting (ATM) included a 3% cost-of-living adjustment for Police Union employees. The Selectboard has scheduled a Special Town Meeting (STM) for March 11 at 6:30pm to ask voters to fund the increase in the Police Department’s FY24 budget. The increase of $58,837.54 comprises $25,055 in retroactive back pay as of 1/10/2024, $25,382.54 in union salary increases for the remainder of FY24, and $8,400 in contractually obligated increases in the uniform allowance. The Board has not yet determined whether it will fund this through ARPA or Free Cash but will seek the Town’s approval at the STM. Though it took quite a bit of time to reach an agreement, the Board feels that this new contract gives the Chief the tools he needs for management, retention and hiring. In particular, the contract requires part-time officers to work shifts before they are eligible for details. It also significantly increases the education-related component of wages which will help with hiring. The new contract will be posted here shortly.
The Board also approved the mid-fiscal-year hiring of an additional (eighth) full-time patrol officer. Chief Patriarca sought this additional officer to reduce overtime costs, improve morale and retention, and reduce the reliance on part-time officers. Overtime has been at an all-time high this year and is projected to remain high without the additional officer. In order to have one officer on each shift, the Chief often resorts to forcing an officer to do overtime. He sometimes has to deny vacation requests because of the lack of backfill capability. These have hurt morale. We continue to lose part-time officers and those that remain have limited availability. We also have lost three full-time officers over the last five years. Since recruiting and vetting new officers is a very lengthy and time-intensive process, the Department can be left short-handed for months when an officer leaves.
The Chief explained to the Board that he hasn’t yet hired a part-time administrative assistant and that he needs an additional patrol officer more. The additional cost of this eighth officer, Officer Douglas Castro, in FY24 is $11,011, broken down as follows:
- Base Pay: $31.34 hour
- Base with Education: $34.22 hour x 40 Hrs = $1,368.80 x 24 weeks = $32,851.20
- Night differential: $1,920 ($2hr x 960 Hrs)
- Uniform allowance: $1,200
- Less: $24,960 unused administrative assistant wages
- Total: $11,011
The $11,011 will be paid from ARPA funds.
When asked about his FY25 budget, Chief Patriarca explained that with this eighth officer on board, he will be seeking approximately $17,800, or a 1.3% increase over the amended FY24 police budget (amended to include increases based on new union contract and eighth officer). If you compare the FY25 budget to that approved at ATM, it is a 6.1% increase. This would cover the Chief’s contractual wage increase, his administrative assistant’s cost-of-living increase, and a small amount for firearms instruction and IT. No additional staff will be requested.