Southampton police chief warns budget cuts could force single-officer shifts, reliance on mutual aid

Southampton Police Chief Ian Ellingsworth said the department needs extra overtime and administrative support to maintain two-officer patrols and handle day-to-day administrative duties, and warned that the no-override FY27 budget would force changes that could affect response and officer safety.

"There's so many more components to a police department than just law enforcement," Ellingsworth said, listing administrative, operations, training and public-outreach functions that he said go beyond patrol and ticketing. He told Town Administrator Scott Zaback that about 82% of the department's overtime request is intended to fill shifts created by lost part-time staffing.

The town is considering three budget options ahead of a town meeting on May 2 and a town-wide ballot vote on May 19: a base budget and two override proposals, one for $1.9 million and another for $2.5 million. Zaback said that under the no-override scenario the department's overtime line would be cut by $90,000 and an administrative assistant position (about $28,000) would be eliminated.

Ellingsworth said the overtime reduction would translate to "an estimated 255 shifts with only 1 officer working," leaving the town to rely on mutual aid from neighboring jurisdictions when a second officer is needed. "If an officer responds to a domestic violence call and the mutual aid is 15 minutes out, that officer's gonna be there 15 minutes probably before an officer arrives," he said, adding that officers are obligated to intervene when necessary.

Ellingsworth attributed part of the staffing squeeze to post-2020 reforms that raised standards for part-time officers, requiring more extensive training; he said the department currently has one part-time officer versus significantly higher part-time coverage earlier in the decade. He characterized the change as a statewide standards shift that reduced available part-time coverage and increased the need for overtime.

Beyond patrol staffing, Ellingsworth detailed administrative and service duties the department performs: about 900 medical calls last year, more than 16,000 log entries in 2025 (a 14% increase from 2024), over 225 investigated crimes, 32 domestic-violence related calls, nine search warrants executed, 398 citizen-assist calls, 65 well-being checks and 110 accidental 911 responses. He said the department also provides first-response medical equipment in cruisers, including Narcan, oxygen and defibrillators.

Regarding the administrative assistant role, Ellingsworth said the position works roughly 20 hours for the police and 20 hours for the fire department, handling payroll, invoicing, public-records requests and walk-in customer service. If the post is cut, he said those duties would fall to sworn officers and to Lieutenant Grover and the chief — reducing time available for patrol and frontline duties.

Ellingsworth also highlighted programs and infrastructure: a recently added therapy dog, Simba, that patrols with a certified handler and aids behavioral-health responses; regional dispatch services provided through an agreement with Easthampton, funded in part by a grant that will offset dispatch costs; and vehicle-maintenance pressures with cruisers accumulating high mileage and costly repairs.

Zaback said all three FY27 budget scenarios and supporting documents are posted on the town website for public review. The town meeting on the proposed budgets is scheduled for May 2, with the override vote on the ballot on May 19. Ellingsworth closed by inviting residents to contact the department directly with questions about functions and services.

The department did not propose new cruisers in the FY27 request after receiving funding for two vehicles the prior year; specific fiscal outcomes will depend on which budget option voters approve.