Police and Fire/EMS chiefs outline equipment replacement and staffing needs as council reviews FY 2026/27 budget

Police Chief Peterson and Fire/EMS Chief Meyers urged the Coventry Town Council on March 16 to fund equipment replacements and staffing as the council reviewed the FY 2026/27 budget.

Chief Peterson outlined capital and operating needs for the Police Department, saying some equipment is original to the 2006 building and beginning to fail. He identified replacement costs including vehicle dash cameras ($77,519.46), a set of 16 officer body cameras previously purchased for $45,101.54 with five-year replacement cycles, a surveillance camera system replacement ($29,582.48) to address gaps in coverage and resolution issues, and a dispatch terminal upgrade that arrived through grant funding with a listed cost of $268,000. Peterson also requested adding a sixth sergeant to provide around-the-clock supervisory coverage; he said state-mandated supervisor responsibilities and liability concerns justify the position.

Chief Meyers told councilors the Fire/EMS operation has absorbed a 26% increase in call volume while relying heavily on volunteers and a student live-in program. He provided line-item totals for the department: EMS $817,239 (53% of the public-safety budget), Fire Services $396,539 (25%), transfer funds $213,711 (14%), and other smaller items. Meyers urged replacement of aging apparatus, noting that the Quint firetruck carries equipment and that a $2.245 million Quint would replace multiple older vehicles and has a 30-year service-life assumption. "Operating emergency vehicles that are more than 20 years old has real consequences," Meyers said, arguing that deferred replacements increase long-term risk and costs.

Councilors pressed department leaders on specific budget details. Finance Committee Chair Robyn Gallagher queried overtime and part-time staffing assumptions in police support services and EMS billing costs; Finance Director Cherie Trahan and Town Manager James Drumm clarified that some line items were adjusted in ClearGov and that the first year of a new CAD system is covered in capital. Meyers said moving ambulance billing in-house would save about $27,000 compared with an external billing company and that changes with contracted billing partners had previously affected Coventry's revenue capture.

The council heard that certain capital items — notably one ambulance and a Quint firetruck — are included in the proposed bond package (Resolution 2026-06) that councilors voted to place on the Annual Town Meeting agenda and on the May 5 referendum. Department leaders emphasized the operational and safety rationale for timely replacements; council debate later focused on bundling the bond question or separating items for voters to consider individually.

Next steps: department presentations and explanatory materials will be posted online and displayed at polling locations in advance of the April Annual Town Meeting and May 5 referendum.