Finance committee recommends public-safety budget after detailed review of staffing, grants and overtime

The Finance Committee voted to recommend the public-safety portion of the FY27 budget after an extended review of staffing, training costs, dispatch funding and grant support.

Committee members heard that dispatch salaries will rise to cover a 3% wage increase and additional pay not covered by state grants, and that the city received two 911-related awards this year: a $49,000 development grant for equipment and upgrades and a $349,000 annual support incentive grant that helps fund the dispatch center. Officials said those grants substantially offset local dispatch operating costs but do not eliminate the need for local staffing and equipment upkeep.

Police Chief Mark Bailey told the panel that the department is budgeting to maintain a 31-person force but has lost four officers and one sergeant since January; four recruits are planned to attend the academy in FY27. Bailey said the lieutenant’s salary was raised to remain competitive with sergeants’ pay and to preserve candidates for administrative roles. He described a suite of mandatory and specialized trainings — 40-hour in-service, firearms, taser, crisis intervention (CIT) and domestic-violence and drug-interdiction courses — that generate much of the department’s overtime burden. Bailey said the department has 18 CIT-certified officers and aims to expand certifications; he also described a regional co-responder pilot for mental-health calls if grant funding is secured.

Fire Chief Brad Lefave (presenting on behalf of the fire department) described a modest set of increases driven by contractual obligations and step increases. The fire budget includes funding for lieutenants and firefighters and anticipates three new firefighter hires who are expected to enter the academy later in the year. Chief Lefave said the department remains budgeted for 22 firefighters and four lieutenants and is using reserve lines and capital planning for apparatus such as a new ladder truck.

On consolidation of dispatch services, both chiefs and finance staff said they reviewed options for transferring calls to Berkshire County Dispatch but concluded the county center currently lacks capacity for North Adams’ roughly 20,000 annual calls; consolidation would likely increase costs because of required on-site staffing and loss of certain 911 grant offsets.

Staff accounted for a $10,000 local increase to dispatch equipment and annual maintenance costs not covered by grants. The police department reported several software and subscription expenses that are recurring (evidence storage for body cameras, records management, speed‑board telemetry) and explained that some systems are managed by vendors while others are administered by department staff.

Committee members questioned how much overtime the city recovers through grants and task-force reimbursements; staff said some overtime tied to drug task-force or traffic grants is reimbursable but that a comprehensive recoverable-dollar total was not immediately available and would be provided later. The chief noted that some overtime — for events, proactive saturation, major incidents and training scheduling constraints — is difficult to eliminate even with higher staffing.

After discussion the committee made and seconded a motion to recommend the public-safety budget as presented; the members voted in favor.