Police Advisory Board Looks to Amend Ordinance to Support its Mission
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Police Advisory and Review Board is considering amending its governing ordinance to improve how it functions.
Three members have agreed to hold a "sub meeting" to begin this discussion: Judge Alfred Barbalunga, Erin Sullivan, and Michael Feldberg.
For some time now, the board has mulled the possibility of amending its ordinance for clarification and empowerment.
In July, members were advised to think about its language to make changes that support its mission. The panel intended to meet in September but the meeting was canceled.
Between the two meetings, Chairwoman Ellen Maxon met with Mayor Linda Tyer and City Solicitor Stephen Pagnotta so they could review and make suggestions on the PARB ordinance.
The current duties and powers of the board include studying policies, practices, and procedures to provide a forum for the public to discuss them, receiving complaints from the public and relaying them to the chief of police, and reviewing final investigative reports regarding citizens' complaints to make policy recommendations.
The review board feels a degree of frustration with the legal constraints that prohibit it from more direct involvement in the oversight of the Police Department. There was a debate at the time the board was modified to its current form to give it a more robust role in investigating and reviewing police operations.
Pagnotta's recommendation applies to PARB's first listed duty in the ordinance, which reads: "To study police-related policies, practices, and procedures and to provide a forum in which citizens may address police matters."
He found it appropriate to add "Where appropriate, the board may advise on purpose and or recommend positions, procedures, regulation, rules, statements, and policies of the Pittsfield Police Department," to the end of the sentence.
The board did not vote on the amendment at this meeting because of the sub-meeting that is planned. There is not a date set for it but Maxon said it will occur before PARB's next regularly scheduled meeting so it can be on the agenda.
The board also received correspondence from state Rep. Tricia Farley-Bouvier in regard to her proposal for the state's $3.65 billion spending bill that allocates $250,000 for the Pittsfield police station design, engineering, and construction.
Because of the facility's current conditions, PARB has previously taken a stance in supporting the new police headquarters project with a price tag of $55 million. They will be sending a letter to Farley-Bouvier in support of her position.
In addition, Maxon discussed how the pandemic has affected PARB's ability to reach out to the community over the last 19 months.
"We have been meeting for 31 months and 19 of those months we've been under this COVID situation, which in my mind has been very unfortunate because we haven't been able to meet in person and talk to each other and connect, but it's also I think has affected our ability to reach out to the community, which is one of our charges and I feel badly about that," she said to the panel.
"Because for the first year when we met we had so much training and just procedural stuff to get out of the way that we never quite got to the providing a forum for the public to talk to us, and that makes me sad and I'm hoping that there's a way if we continue to do Zoom meetings if anyone has ideas on ways that we can reach out to the community that would be helpful."
Members suggested hosting hybrid meetings to allow for in-person and virtual commerce.
Sullivan pointed out that virtual meetings over the Zoom platform improve accessibility for those who cannot get to the City Hall for meetings.
The board is scheduled to meet again on Nov. 16, when the conversation on ordinance changes and community outreach will resume.
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