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Police department proposes modest budget increase, highlights staffing targets, body cams and privacy safeguards for license-plate readers
Summary
Acting Chief Joseph told the committee the FY27 police budget request totals about $14.7 million, budgeted to raise sworn strength from 83 to 89. The department described investments in body-worn cameras, a drone unit, gunshot detection and license-plate readers; council members pressed for privacy safeguards and clarification on grant funding and national-data sharing.
Acting Chief Joseph presented the Police Department's FY27 operating proposal to the Ways and Means Committee on May 18, saying the $14.7 million request represents a modest 2% increase from FY26 and that personnel account for about 92% of the department's budget.
Joseph said the department currently has 83 sworn officers and is budgeting for 89 sworn positions in FY27, with four candidates scheduled to attend the academy this summer and additional hires expected via lateral transfer and a "Get Badged" pathway to accelerate staffing. He said the department hopes to reduce overtime pressure as staffing stabilizes.
He described recent and planned investments in technology and training: a drone unit used for searches and large events, gunshot-detection sensors, expanded de-escalation training, and a planned rollout of body-worn cameras for sworn personnel pending vendor selection and an agreement with bargaining units. The department expects fielding of cameras and training to occur in late summer and early fall if contracts and policies are finalized.
Council members asked detailed questions about ammunition procurement, shift differentials (part of collective-bargaining agreements), the marine unit, animal control costs and the department's reliance on state grant funding for clinicians attached to the Family Services Unit. Chief Joseph said clinician positions have been grant-funded for about five years and cautioned that continued state grant support is important to avoid service gaps for people with mental-health needs.
A lengthy exchange focused on license-plate readers (LPRs) and the vendor Flock. Chief Joseph described safeguards: user-based logins with attributable audit trails, mandatory free-text search justification, quarterly audits and a 30-day retention window for raw LPR data. Council members pressed about possible national sharing and federal access; department officials said Braintree is not on a national lookup roster and that sharing options with outside agencies have been turned off, but they acknowledged the need for continued attention to contractual terms, funding sources and auditability.
Committee members praised the department's training programs and outreach (including a school self-defense initiative and a Project Childhood effort), and asked for additional documentation on LPR terms, funding sources and audit controls. The department said it will provide the written policy and grant/funding details to the committee for follow-up.
