Millis police urge staffing additions and budget planning as marijuana impact funds phase down

Millis police officials told the Millis Finance Committee on Wednesday that rising call volume and chronic understaffing have increased pressure on the department and that some positions now funded by marijuana impact (HCA) money will need long-term budget solutions once those funds phase out.

The police presentation laid out grants and outside revenue received in recent years (bulletproof vest grant $15,000; technology/equipment grants about $34,000; a traffic enforcement grant of $20,560; a K‑9 grant near $7,000; a medication‑disposal program about $1,500 annually) and listed modest fee income — about $31,000 in administrative detail fees and roughly $3,000 from license‑to‑carry processing last year. Police officials said mobile data terminals (MDTs) cost about $7,000 per cruiser and are on a replacement schedule, and that officers’ bulletproof vests are on a…