Keene council appoints city attorney, rejects GPS tracking and time clocks; military leave updated

The Keene City Council on Jan. 16 took several formal votes affecting personnel, privacy and internal policy.

In a unanimous vote after executive session, the council appointed Ann Fort as city attorney. The transcript records a motion to select “mister Ann Fort” and a second; council recorded the motion as carried unanimously. The action followed an in‑camera interview process that council said had produced two finalists.

The council also voted on three operational items raised during the staff reports:

- GPS tracking on non‑police, non‑fire city vehicles: After staff outlined options and costs, the council voted 5–1 to decline adding GPS tracking to non‑emergency city vehicles. The staff report noted that Keene already uses vehicle tracking for police, animal control and many public‑works vehicles through a vendor; staff provided a low‑end equipment estimate of about $385 per vehicle and said low‑end upfront costs for a full fleet could run into the mid‑four figures. Councilmembers said the city is not yet the right size to justify full fleet tracking and expressed concern about morale and public‑records implications. The motion to not add GPS tracking devices was made by Councilmember Foster and seconded by Councilmember Chapman and carried 5–1.

- Time‑recording mechanism for city staff: After a multi‑speaker discussion that included the city’s fire chief describing morale and operational impacts of strict punch‑in systems, the council voted 5–1 to decline adoption of a new time‑recording mechanism. Chief Dan Warner, recounting his experience in a larger city, warned that time clocks can reduce shift‑change communication and require additional administrative staff to manage corrections. The motion to not adopt a time‑recording mechanism was made by Councilmember Foster and seconded by Councilmember Shaw and carried 5–1.

- Personnel manual: The council voted unanimously to update Chapter 5, Section 5.4 (Military Leave) of the City of Keene personnel policy manual to add the single word “work” where staff recommended it; HR Director Sandra Overstreet said the committee revising the manual expects to complete a broader update by April and recommended the minor change to prevent an adverse impact on a reservist employee.

The consent agenda — two items not discussed on the record — was approved unanimously earlier in the meeting.

Why it matters: The council’s votes preserve existing local practice on vehicle tracking and payroll oversight; they also finalize a new city attorney appointment and make a limited personnel‑policy change recommended by HR. Council directed staff to provide cost estimates if the GPS decision is revisited and HR indicated a fuller personnel manual revision will come back to council by April.

Quotes from the meeting include the fire chief’s experience with time clocks and staff cost estimates for GPS technology. “It can work, but it created a morale issue,” Chief Dan Warner said of time‑clock systems he observed. City Manager Don Seitz summarized vendor pricing ranges for GPS hardware and services and noted basic packages can cost in the low hundreds per vehicle while more comprehensive options are several times more expensive.

The council did not provide a new timetable for reconsidering GPS tracking; it asked staff to return with firm cost figures if the item is to be revisited.