I support our Fire Department as well as our Police Department. The proposal to spend $25 million is not unreasonable for what is being proposed.
However, the primary reason we need a new fire station is the requirement to have big fire trunks with long ladders to protect Williams College's tall buildings for which the college pays no taxes. While Williams has it's own security police department it does not have its own fire department.
It is true that they support Fire Department volunteers, which is good. Thus, the college should contribute $10 million up front toward the new fire station and voters should be asked to vote to approve $15 million toward a new fire station. How about it Williams? Pony up! Common sense!
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Williamstown Fin Comm Hears from Police Department, Library
By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Police Chief Michael Ziemba last week explained to the Finance Committee why an additional full-time officer needs to be added to the fiscal year 2027 budget.
The 13 officers in the Williamstown Police Department are insufficient to maintain the department's minimal threshold of two officers on patrol per shift without employing overtime and relying on the chief and the WPD's one detective to cover patrol shifts if an officer is sick or using personal time, Ziemba explained.
Some of that coverage was provided in the past by part-time officers, but that option was taken away by the commonwealth's 2020 police reform act.
"We lost two part-timers a couple of years ago," Ziemba told the Fin Comm. "They were part-time officers, but they also worked the desk. So between the desk and the cruiser shifts, they were working 40 hours a week, the two of them. We lost them to police reform.
"We have seen that we're struggling to cover shifts voluntarily now. We're starting to order people to cover time-off requests. … We don't have the flexibility when somebody goes out for a surgery or sickness or maternity leave to cover that without overtime. An additional position, I believe, would alleviate that."
Ziemba bolstered his case by benchmarking the force against like-sized communities in Berkshire County.
Adams, for example, has 19 full-time officers and handled 9,241 calls last year with a population just less than 8,000 and a coverage area of 23 square miles, Ziemba said. By comparison, Williamstown has 13 officers, handled 15,000 calls for service, has a population of about 8,000 (including staff and students at Williams College) and covers 46.9 square miles.
The Williamstown Police Department last month reached a major milestone in its effort to earn accreditation from the Massachusetts Police Accreditation Commission. click for more
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Caprese Conyers scored 22 points, and Kyana Summers had a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds to go with eight assists as Pittsfield got back to the state semi-finals for the second year in a row. click for more
Police Chief Michael Ziemba last week explained to the Finance Committee why an additional full-time officer needs to be added to the fiscal year 2027 budget. click for more
