New Canaan Police Commission approves routine administrative items; chief reports improved staffing and traffic enforcement

The Town of New Canaan Police Commission on April 16 approved routine administrative items — including minutes from prior meetings, uniform invoices, completion of probation for two officers and a college course approval — and heard the police chief’s monthly report on budget, staffing and enforcement.

The police chief said the year-to-date budget for March was “72.7%, which is pretty good considering we have a few more months left for the budget cycle,” and said animal control was operating at 70.4% of its budget. The chief reported staffing was improving: for March the department was operating at minimum shift about 52% of the time, down from more than 70% at the same point last year. The chief also credited high-visibility traffic enforcement — including grant-supported patrols and work by Traffic Officer Obando — for a recent increase in motor-vehicle enforcement.

Commissioners moved and seconded approval of the minutes from the March 19 regular meeting and the April 3 special session; both motions passed. The commission approved a uniforms packet (invoices from New England Uniform) as presented. It unanimously removed Officers Castro and Schnell from probationary status after the chief reported they were performing well. The commission also approved a college-course request for Officer Bartulli, who is pursuing a master’s degree in forensic accounting at Southern New Hampshire University; the chief recommended approval as the coursework (an auditing class) would support the department’s financial- and fraud-investigation work.

The chief highlighted several budget and accounts-receivable items: overtime lines remain among the higher-cost budget areas, extra-duty aging has improved substantially thanks to department collections efforts led by an employee identified as Tiger, and one outlier remains — Tinker Construction — which the chief said was overdue by roughly $151,000, with about $115,000 over 120 days past due. False-alarm aging totaled about $17,000, the chief said, with roughly $14,006 of that over 120 days and likely unrecoverable in many cases.

On recruitment, staff said roughly 20 candidates were interviewed last week and five were advanced, with three now in background checks and two held as alternates; the department holds academy seats in July and a reserved seat in October. A letter of commendation from Sergeant Capenera for Officer Connolly’s lengthy investigation into a August motor-vehicle-versus-bicycle crash on Old Stamford Road was read aloud; the chief noted the investigation included neighborhood canvassing, video evidence requests and search warrants for event-data recorders, producing an 18-page report.

The commission received a building renovation update: the chief said the department is still on track for a June move-in and that 911 and the phone system are expected to be operational on June 3. A tentative ribbon-cutting date under consideration is May 22; staff said a final date will be publicized after the next building meeting.

Votes at a glance: minutes from March 19 regular meeting — approved (unanimous); minutes from April 3 special session — approved (unanimous); New England Uniform invoice packet — approved (unanimous); remove Officers Castro and Schnell from probationary status — approved (unanimous); approve Officer Bartulli’s course at Southern New Hampshire University — approved (unanimous).

The meeting adjourned after routine business and no further new or old business was raised.