Town of Auburn

Police Commission

 January 5, 2010

PRESENT:    Ken Robinson, Chairman, Hubert Topliff, John McCaugherty, Chief Picard, Lieutenant Flight, Jane Rego

GUESTS:       Bill Herman, Town Administrator, Jeff Mullaney, Part-time Officer

Mr. Robinson called the meeting to order at 4:08 p.m.

REVIEW OF BILLS:

All bills and correspondence presented were signed and approved.  

MINUTES of November 2009.  Mr. Topliff moved to accept the Minutes without modification.  Mr. McCaugherty seconded.  All in favor.

Department Reports:

Chief’s Report:

Review of the 2009 Budget figures show us coming in at around 92% of our approved budget at this time.  The part-time line is running a bit over, but is balanced out by the fact that we spent very little in the full-time overtime line this year.  We have requested a $10,000 increase in the part-time line for 2010.  The Budget Committee seems to have a “use it or lose it” mentality, which Chief Picard feels just promotes wasteful spending – we prefer to have the funds available to us in case we need them, but don’t want to feel that they need to be used so that they are not taken from us.

There have been articles in the newspaper recently about the town of Allenstown losing three of its full-timer police officers to the war in Iraq – that is half of their police force.  Their Chief is concerned about the cost of training new full-time officers while they are away.  Chief Picard feels they should explore the advantages of part-time officers.

The Auburn Police Dept. has not lost any personnel in 2009.  We currently have a great roster of very capable officers and he is very proud of them.  Chief Picard is confident that his officers are capable of handling any situation that comes their way.

The Auburn Police Department had a very good year with no major incidents.  Our burglary totals are the lowest in the State and we are very proud of that.  Surrounding towns have been hit hard recently.

Lt. Bartis recently had his weapon stolen from his vehicle.  The appropriate paperwork has been filed with Manchester PD and the investigation is ongoing.

Chief Picard wanted to thank everyone for all their good wishes during his recent emergency surgery.

Lieutenant’s Report

The Board of Selectmen and the Budget Committee recently unanimously approved a warrant article submitted for the purchase of six cruiser laptops along with all the necessary hardware.  We are hopeful it will be approved by the voters.  We anticipate receiving funding through the NH Highway Safety Dept. to cover the majority of the cost.  These laptops will make the roads much safer for our officers.

We were recently able to trade in our old weapons for brand new ones at a cost of approximately $2,000.  This is an excellent price – much research was done to get the best deal possible.

Our old cruisers are finally gone.  It is definitely a sign of the poor economy that it took so long for us to be able to sell these two.  It has never taken this long before.  Three months from now we will have to begin the process all over again with another two cruisers.

 Guest Comments

Town Administrator Bill Herman stated that the 2010 Budget is just about done. 

The proposed budget has no COLA increase, however, the default budget does.

Old Business

Police Commission Chairman Ken Robinson commended Chief Picard on the job he is doing.  He specifically mentioned correspondence received from the Auburn Library thanking the Police Department for the community service donations directed to them.

Personnel Reviews

Motion made by Commissioner Topliff to accept and commend the following officers for  their excellent personnel reviews: Officer David Patten, Det. Lt. Gary Bartis, Patrol Sgt. Ray Pelton, Officer Steven Donahue, and Officer Chip Chabot, seconded by John McCaugherty, all in favor.

Motion to adjourn meeting by Mr. Robinson at 4:28 p.m.  Approved – Mr. Topliff, Second –  

Mr. McCaugherty.    All in favor.

Next meeting, February 2, 2010, 4:00 p.m. @ the Auburn Safety Complex.