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Police chief: carriers charging municipalities for phone-data requests; overtime, staffing discussed
Summary
Police Chief described new charges from cell carriers for producing phone data in response to warrants (about $50–$75 per request) and explained recurring overtime driven by storms and community events; board members probed staffing, mutual-aid billing and whether legislative changes are needed.
Chief of Police David Furlong told the Board of Selectmen that the department has started receiving invoices from cellular carriers when the department requests call-history or other phone data pursuant to search warrants. “They can charge—they can bill the town,” Furlong said, adding that the typical per-request charge is “usually about $50 to $75.”
The chief explained that billing began in the last two years and that the department also faces other growing records-related costs, such as staff time for redacting body-camera and dash-camera footage. Board members asked whether any federal law prompted the fees; no statute was cited during the meeting and Furlong said the practice has been reported through the Chiefs of Police Association and legal counsel.
On staffing and overtime, the board discussed a $200,000 in-series transfer presented as necessary to address a post-budget salary negotiation and to reimburse overtime tied to recent storms and community events. The chief said the department currently operates with 49 sworn officers against an authorized 52, and that replacement overtime is used to backfill patrol shifts for vacations, illnesses and training. He described events (e.g., Harvest Fest, tree lighting, concerts) that the department staffs proactively for public safety and explained how mutual-aid and billing between towns typically work.
Board members pressed on accounting: overtime expenditures are recorded as department costs and later credited back to the department when outside entities remit payment, but those credits may not appear as an explicit revenue line. The meeting record does not include a roll-call tally for the vote; the transfer passed on voice vote and will be forwarded to the Board of Finance as required.
