The Holyoke Finance Committee accepted three public‑safety grants Nov. 24 to support traffic enforcement, officer training and emergency medical dispatch services.

Joe, presenting the Municipal Road Safety grant, said the recurring $45,000 award will supplement traffic enforcement in the absence of a dedicated traffic unit and fund a focused crosswalk enforcement detail: "A portion of this grant is going to be solely dedicated to crosswalk violations... there'll be 2 officers working, 1 in a cruiser parked a couple blocks away, 1 officer that will attempt to walk across the street during in a crosswalk..." The committee approved acceptance by roll call.

On the Edward J. Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant ($18,344), staff said the funds will buy five laptop computers for officers, less‑lethal training simulators and transportation cases for range equipment, and protective ballistic shields to be staged in patrol vehicles. A committee member asked about policies and training for shields; Joe said officers practice with shields annually during in‑service training and emphasized rapid threat response doctrine used in active‑shooter incidents.

The committee also accepted a FY26 State 911 Emergency Medical Dispatch grant ($24,500) that will cover the city's contract with Cataldo Ambulance to provide telephonic medical instruction to 911 callers when dispatchers are not qualified to give medical direction.

All three grants were approved by voice/roll‑call at the meeting. Staff indicated the Byrne award will support less‑lethal training and equipment purchases and the road safety grant will generate enforcement logs and intersection reports for council review.