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Select Board tables Christmas stroll funding after debate over police-detail costs for town events
Summary
Organizers sought $258 to $699 to cover police detail costs for a proposed Dec. 13 Christmas stroll at Ted Williams Camp; the Parks Commission and event organizers said the cost (and union/contract obligations) could make the event unaffordable. The board asked staff to clarify detail costs and alternatives and tabled a funding decision.
Organizers of a proposed Lakeville Christmas stroll on Dec. 13 asked the Select Board to use the select board gift account to cover police-detail costs. The request prompted extended discussion about the cost and whether the event should proceed as a town-sponsored activity.
Parks Commission member Melissa Turcotte and event organizers explained their plan for a "reverse parade" with floats staged in the Ted Williams Camp parking lot, noting many elements are volunteer-driven and donations are planned. Organizers said the event had limited fundraising so far and that paying a police detail from the small select board gift account would be difficult.
The board reviewed numbers in the meeting packet and heard inconsistent figures: a packet line-item showing $258 per officer (with a four-hour minimum), a two-officer rate of $516, and a police memo that listed a higher figure (documented in the packet as $496 in one place and an overtime/highest-paid-officer rate of $699 in another). The administration and police chief said some confusion stemmed from different calculations (standard detail rate, minimum four-hour billing and overtime/union provisions for the highest-paid officer). Parks leaders said that if the town treats it as a town-sanctioned event the higher rate applies.
Organizers and Parks Commission members urged finding a low- or no-cost solution — for example, DPW barricades/closures or donated officer time in some towns — and asked the board to consider an annual policy or budget line for community-event details. Select Board members asked administration to provide a clear, bullet-pointed cost breakdown and explore whether DPW could close the driveway with barricades without paid police detail. The board tabled the request pending clearer facts.
The board acknowledged the broader policy implication: a union/contract requirement for paid officer details could create a recurring cost for many community events (Lakeville Day, trunk-or-treat, etc.), and members directed staff to return with options ahead of future event planning and the FY27 budget cycle.
