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Commission discusses purchasing PowerDMS policy software; no purchase vote taken
Summary
Commissioners discussed whether to buy PowerDMS, the policy-and-training software used by the police department; the manager said the town did not budget for it and would not reduce her salary to pay for it; commissioners asked for information from the police chief about the software's benefits before deciding.
Commissioners debated whether to purchase PowerDMS, the policies-and-procedures software used by the police department, which the town manager proposed to extend to other departments for organized policy access, training tracking and workers' compensation support.
Town Manager Elizabeth Mascara explained the software is the same platform the police chief uses to organize personnel policies and training and that the system could help track employee training, certification and safety compliance for departments like public works. Mascara told the commission plainly when asked whether she would reduce her own salary to free funds for the purchase: "No. I would not."
Some commissioners said they support policy organization and digitization in principle but questioned mid-year purchases if the item is not already budgeted. One commissioner asked the manager to obtain specific metrics from Police Chief Griswold about how the department has used PowerDMS and whether it fixed operational problems there. The manager said the police chief found the police policies disorganized and welcomed the software.
Commissioners did not take a formal vote to purchase the software at the workshop; several said they would consider the item during the next budget cycle or after reviewing Chief Griswold's experience and usage data from the police department.
