Alton police chief asks committee to clarify reserve funds, proposes vehicle reserve and added building savings

Police Chief Todd MacGould told the Alton Capital Improvements Program committee on Sept. 22 that the police department’s capital reserve accounts are not listed the way he expects in the town’s CIP documents and asked the committee to correct descriptions and account lines so voters and reviewers can see the intended purpose.

MacGould said the warrant article that historically established a police building CRF (Article 6, 02/2004) lists the purpose as “renovation and expansion,” and that is why recent deposits intended for HVAC, septic and general maintenance appear in the CRF labeled for building expansion. “When I do an update to this plan, I’m gonna remove PD 3 because it just doesn’t exist,” MacGould said, referring to a separate PD3 line for septic/HVAC that was not funded as a separate CRF.

Why it matters: MacGould said he wants the CRF language to mirror the warrant article so residents and staff understand what funds may be used for and to avoid the appearance that money is being put aside for an unrelated building expansion.

Account balances and targets. MacGould said the original police-building CRF had been used for a past expansion and that the remaining balance on the current account was $10,198.25 as of July 31. He described a working target of $100,000 for the resurrected CRF over the next few years, noting the account was once targeted at $2,000,000 when first established but that is not his near-term expectation.

Equipment and subscription planning. The chief described a new equipment CRF established last year with about $30,000 and a multiyear subscription that is grant-funded now but will need town funding when the grant ends. He said the department budget plan proposed raising the subscription CRF from $30,000 to $35,000 this year to prepare for the next contract cycle. “We bought a 5 year subscription with a grant. But in 5 years, we’re gonna have to pay for it ourselves,” MacGould said.

Vehicle funding options. A substantial portion of the discussion focused on vehicle replacement and the police department’s revolving-account practice for detail revenue. MacGould explained the department uses a police-vehicle revolving account (payments received for details and other fees) to fund leases and equipment. He proposed creating a new CRF specifically for vehicle purchases to provide a steady, visible reserve so the department would not need to seek one-time warrant articles that create larger tax-rate spikes.

MacGould said the department currently leases most patrol vehicles and covers lease payments from the revolving account; equipment (cages, computer mounts, radar, K-9 equipment) can add roughly $22,000 per vehicle. He gave the committee several options the department would support, including putting $40,000 a year into a vehicle CRF so the town would have funds to purchase a patrol SUV or to offset a lease payment in a year with fewer detail revenues. “If we reserve 40 this year, 40 next year, there’s your 1 vehicle,” a committee member observed; MacGould responded that schedule would provide “a bit of pressure relief.”

Fleet condition and maintenance. MacGould told the committee most cruisers are 2019 Dodge Chargers with about 80,000 miles on several vehicles; one administrative vehicle is nearer 37,000 miles. He said maintenance spending rose this year to roughly $14,000 so far, above prior budgets of about $10,000, largely because the department relies on outside mechanics rather than internal shop labor. He warned that clustering many same‑year vehicles (all 2019) causes multiple maintenance issues to occur concurrently.

Committee follow-up and clarifications. Committee members asked MacGould to submit the official CRF paperwork with the precise language he would like used in the CIP so the committee can align the plan with warrant language and the town’s records. MacGould agreed to provide the forms and to work with staff to update the next iteration of the CIP.