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Council adds $35,000 police special-events line after schools request shared detail costs
Summary
After discussion about school event security and detail costs following a local incident, council created a $35,000 police budget line to cover the town's share of police details at school events and directed finance and solicitor review of accounting and maintenance-of-effort implications.
Councilors and the police chief discussed costs of police details for school athletics and events after a recent shooting at a local venue prompted requests for increased security presence. The police chief explained that typical annual cost for athletics and school events this year ran to roughly $30,000 and that high-attendance events require overtime detail staffing.
Chief: "body cams are state money grant. So, I put in capital for that," and later described how details are scheduled and billed. After back-and-forth about billing logistics, the council voted to add a new $35,000 line in the police budget labeled for special-event security to be used for school events. The council asked the solicitor to confirm whether the town's payment of half of detail costs could later be interpreted as maintenance of effort under state law; the solicitor cautioned the council that prior case law has flagged such arrangements.
The council directed that the police department bill the school for 50% of details and that the town's finance office track those receipts and reimbursements; if the solicitor determines the arrangement could be maintenance of effort, councilors said they would revisit the accounting treatment.
