Milford — The Milford Board of Selectmen on June 23 approved a revised police detail rate that sets officer pay at $60 per hour and establishes a billing rate intended to cover retirement and related costs.

The change, presented by the police department and discussed at length by the board and town staff, raises the contractor billable rate for officers with New Hampshire retirement to $80.50 per hour and keeps the cruiser car rate at $19 per hour. Selectman Dave Friel moved to approve the rate increases as proposed; Selectwoman Tina Philbrick seconded the motion and the board carried the measure.

Board members and department staff said the increases followed a regional review of neighboring towns’ practice. "We thought it was justified to go up to $60 an hour since we all go back and forth to each town working details," Police Captain Fry told the board during the meeting. He listed comparable rates in nearby towns and said the change aligns Milford with local practice.

Why it matters: detail work is typically billed to outside contractors — paving companies, utilities and other firms — and the town passes most of that revenue through to officers. The board was told the updated billing rate is intended to ensure the town covers employer costs such as retirement and workers’ compensation when officers on certain retirement plans work details.

Key details discussed and recorded at the meeting:
- Officer pay: $60 per hour (this is the amount officers receive for detail work).
- Billing rate for officers covered by New Hampshire retirement (NHRS): $80.50 per hour; this figure is intended to include retirement, workers’ compensation and related employer costs.
- Billing rate for officers not covered by NHRS: $61.66 per hour (presented during discussion as the billed amount that covers those officers’ fringe costs while the officer receives $60 per hour).
- Cruiser/car rate: $19 per hour (no change reported).
- Example billing: the packet showed an example where an officer with a cruiser is billed at $398 for four hours under the new structure.

Selectmen asked several operational questions before the vote: whether the detail program costs the town anything (staff said it does not, and that the $19 cruiser rate goes into the general fund), how assignments are allocated (a rotating bid sheet; officers who take a detail move to the bottom of the list), and whether other departments such as DPW and the fire department ever provide or take details (staff said DPW and fire sometimes participate but police officers are used first).

Captain Fry told the board the department mails rate notices to the companies that use details and posts the rates publicly to avoid surprises.

The board approved the rate increases "as proposed," with the motion recorded and carried during the June 23 meeting.