Committee backs NextGen records system; sergeant promotion discussion continued

The Coventry Finance Committee voted Feb. 17 to recommend that the Town Council allocate up to $45,000 from CNREF to purchase NextGen police records software, after Chief of Police Eric Peterson explained the town’s current CAD system (AccuComm) is nearing obsolescence and NextGen offered a time‑limited lower price.

Chief Peterson said AccuComm is the department’s core system for logging complaints, assigning case numbers and writing arrest reports but has become outdated and prone to problems. He told the committee that NextGen’s full price was $200,000 but he negotiated it to $125,000; the purchase structure discussed included a $75,000 down payment with the department proposing to apply the $30,000 currently budgeted for AccuComm and the $21,000 annual AccuComm fee that will be due July 1 toward year‑one costs, leaving new funds needed of $23,912. Chief Peterson said NextGen has lowered its price for departments that switch soon and that most state departments use the vendor.

Finance Director Cherie Trahan and Town Manager James Drumm discussed funding options and accounting approaches, and Chair Robyn Gallagher proposed allocating $45,000 from CNREF to cover the down payment net of existing department funds. Peter Larson said switching now will save taxpayers money over time. The committee moved and approved the recommendation to allocate up to $45,000 from CNREF; the motion passed unanimously.

The committee also heard Chief Peterson request promoting a patrol officer to sergeant to boost supervisory coverage. He said the department currently lacks a supervisor roughly 25% of the time and argued that increasing to six sergeants would provide better 24/7 coverage, reduce liability risk and help retain trained officers. The committee discussed training requirements for sergeants and the estimated costs: Chief Peterson estimated the promotion would cost about $1,300 in the first year and could total roughly $11,000 annually by year three because of step increases. The committee chose by consensus to continue the sergeant promotion and other staffing and report items to a future meeting so they can be considered during the budget process.

What happens next: The CNREF allocation recommendation will be sent to the full Town Council for final approval; staff will refine funding lines and budget timing. The sergeant promotion remains under consideration pending further budget review.