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Plaistow Selectmen approve police budget; chief outlines staffing gains and a $1 million prelim grant for radio infrastructure
Summary
The Board approved the police department budget after Chief John Santoro described full patrol staffing, equipment and training needs, and said the town has preliminarily received a $1,000,000 grant to begin addressing radio and repeater infrastructure.
The Plaistow Board of Selectmen voted to approve the police department’s budget during the Oct. 28 meeting after Chief John Santoro reviewed staffing, equipment and communications needs and described a preliminary $1,000,000 grant for radio infrastructure.
Chief Santoro said the department is currently fully staffed in patrol (18 of 18 positions filled) and noted that a recently allocated 19th position remains to be filled. “We typically average 2 to 3 vacancies,” Captain Jason Maza said, and the chief credited recent recruitment and town support with improved retention.
On equipment, Santoro described plans to replace aging cruisers and to move toward full‑size SUVs (Chevy Tahoe or Ford Interceptor) to carry increased officer equipment and improve durability. He also described a pilot program to purchase fuel from a state depot to reduce operating costs for administrative vehicles.
Santoro told the board the town has “received, preliminarily a grant for $1,000,000 that was co written by the fire department” to address radio infrastructure, adding Motorola and other vendors have conducted on‑site assessments. He said a full project—dependent on final pricing, procurement and supply‑chain lead times—could take many months to complete and that some repairs and purchases will proceed as funds are released.
Board members asked about training and ammunition. Santoro said training budgets rose because full staffing allows the department to send officers to professional development and leadership programs, and he said ammunition supplies and prices have been volatile in previous years.
The transcript records a motion to approve the police budget that uses the figure $2,975,389; earlier in the police presentation Santoro referred to a packet line of $295,389.20. The record therefore contains inconsistent budget figures. The board approved the motion by voice vote.
Chief Santoro closed by thanking the community for support and attendance at events and said department leaders would continue to provide updates to the board as work on radios, vehicle replacement and training proceeds.
