Letter: Dalton Police Budget for Special Town Meeting

To the Editor:

I have immense respect for the work performed by our Police Department. It is certainly a great comfort for the town's people that they can feel safe. However, reviewing the police budget was still necessary and appropriate to assure the townspeople that the department's budget was the best it could be. The Finance Committee did not target the police budget; instead, all departments underwent the same objective process. The misinformation presented by the Police Department at the May 19 Select Board meeting was very unfortunate.

Each year Dalton, town departments submit their anticipated budgets to the Select Board for the next fiscal year, based on current spending, expected salary increases and any anticipated new expenses. After preliminary approval of these budgets by the Select Board, the Finance Committee reviews prior-year spending and justifications for increases, aiming to limit tax increases. This process is applied consistently to all departments, including the Police Department.

This year, the Police Department submitted a budget of $1,664,924, an 8.4 percent increase. With a history of the police budget having significant money remaining at the end of the budget year, and with this year's budget projected by the town manager to rise significantly, it was appropriate that the police budget, like all other budgets, would have excesses trimmed to help the people of the town get some tax relief.

The surplus amounts in the police budget returned to free cash over the past few years are as follows:

During deliberations prior to the annual town meeting, the Finance Committee trimmed the police budget by $14,500 and approved the budget. At the annual town meeting, people with knowledge of Dalton Police procedures and costs presented potential budget cuts. The voters rejected the budget proposed on May 5.

With this information, the Finance Committee is ready for an additional review of excesses, not core funding of officers, the DARE program, the comfort dog, the town's K-9 or the crossing guard as mentioned in the recent news articles.

This process might save an additional $50,000 to $60,000, which I believe the town's struggling taxpayers would appreciate.

Normally when a budget is rejected by the voters at an annual town meeting, the rejected budget is reviewed by the Finance Committee prior to a revote at a special town meeting. Such a review is supported by the Dalton Finance bylaw, 97-2&3. I am concerned the Select Board at their May 19 meeting voted to skip this step and scheduled the original police budget for a town vote on June 9.

I believe the town's taxpayers should demand a Finance Committee review prior to a revote. If you share my concern, please express your views to the Select Board at their next meeting on May 27. Also, please plan to attend the special annual town meeting in June to assure that the appropriate police budget is adopted for Dalton.

William Drosehn
Dalton, Mass. 

Drosehn is chair of the Dalton Finance Committee. 

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