SUTTON BUDGET COMMITTEE

OCTOBER 16, 2017

 

Meeting was called to order by Chairperson DeFelice.  Present were Gail Guertin, Andy Palmer, and Bob Wright.  There was a quorum.  It was moved by Palmer and seconded by Guertin to approve the Minutes of the prior meeting.  The motions passed without dissent.

The Chairperson offered the following information on the Police Department Budget:

  1. Item 622 – Firearms and ammo is currently included in investigative supplies (621).  The total allocation will be $7,000 and will be split between 621 and 622, $4,500 and $2,500, respectively.
  2. Item 210 – Health insurance will be listed in the Executive Department budget.
  3. Item 101 – Wages – reduction is because there is no allocation for a Resource Officer.

Committee then reviewed the budget of the Sutton Police Department with Chief Jonathan Korbet.  The below items were responses to written questions from the Committee:

  1. CIP – Cruisers and computers (Actual and Budgeted Expenses)
  2. Items needed and to be considered: (a) new fulltime Officer with possibility of becoming an SRO; (b) lack of part-time Officers and its effect could be offset by the fulltime Officer, and the budgeted costs, even with benefits, would be within the budgeted parameters; (c) securing an audio/video monitoring system ($4,500 to install and $288/year to monitor)
  3. Further need:  Handheld radar battery operated $1,200 to $2,000; video surveillance system at $3,000 with a password.  There would also be a monthly $40/camera charge.
  4. Outside the norms of budget was the request for good communication and feedback.

Committee then reviewed line-by-line the budget offered by Chief Korbet, who distributed copies to all the Members.  Some of the highlights included:

  • Item 321 – Court witness fees changed.
  • Item 190 – Computers changed.
  • Item 430 – Building Maintenance and Repair, currently at $3,999.  The Chief requested $10,000, which would include a lighting upgrade and an alarm system.
  • Item 631 – Mileage reduced from $500 to $300 (personal mileage used for police business)
  • Items 621 and 622

Upon conclusion of the Chief’s presentation, and after Committee questions, the Chairperson recommended that each Department Head will present that Department budget to those gathered at the budget hearing.  Chairperson also explained to the Committee the difference between budget allocation and actual spending.

The meeting was adjourned at 7:49 p.m.  The next meeting of the committee is scheduled for October 23rd at 6:00 p.m.

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

Robert W. Wright, Jr.

Alternate Scribe