The town of Rindge may be hiring an eighth full-time officer, but whether the position would be funded by a federal grant remains to be seen.
The Select Board held a public hearing Wednesday on whether the town should accept a federal grant that would fund $125,000 of the officer’s salary for three years. While the board voted to allow Police Chief Todd Muilenberg to pursue the hiring of a full-time officer, no motion was made regarding the grant.
“We don’t want to start a federal grant by breaking a state law,” said chair Robert Hamilton, who referenced RSA 31:95-B, which deals with appropriations for funds made available during the year (See Page 9 for more information). “From what I’ve read, if there are matching funds to be used, it seems to indicate that we would need to bring this to the voters.”
Rindge Police Department was one of four New Hampshire agencies and 181 national agencies to be awarded a $125,000 US Department of Justice COPS Hiring Program grant, which would require the town to hire an eighth full-time officer for at least four years. After the grant subsidizes a portion of the officer’s salary in the first three years, the town is then required to pay the salary and benefits of the officer for one full year before it can be decided whether the position should be retained.
In his presentation before the hearing, Muilenberg said his department is so understaffed that Sgt. Daniel Anair is serving as a patrol officer and Det. Jeffrey Seppala occasionally serves as one, in addition to using overtime and part-time officers. With 24/7 police coverage, which includes two officers on duty for five hours a day, the department must fill 335 patrol shifts, which excludes vacation hours or military leave. Filling those 335 shifts costs the town between $70,216 and $100,566.
If the town accepted the grant, Muilenberg said taxpayers would pay an additional estimated $69.40 on their tax bills over the course of the four years, factoring a property valuation of $200,000. Hiring an eighth officer, according to Muilenberg, would still leave 145 shifts to be filled with overtime and part-time officers.
The Select Board ultimately decided not to vote on the grant, as Hamilton and selectman Jim Qualey wanted to wait until the town heard from the Department of Revenue Administration or legal counsel to get clarification on the RSA.
Selectwoman Roberta Oeser differed in opinion, saying the town already allots funds for full-time police officers, and argued that the grant should have been accepted after the public hearing.
The town has until the end of December to accept or deny the grant, or ask for an extension on the deadline, according to Muilenberg.
All of the 20-plus people who spoke at the public hearing were in favor of hiring an eighth full-time officer in town, with some arguing that the town needs more than eight, and others arguing that the position should be approved with or without grant funding.
“As far as I’m concerned, this is a no-brainer,” said Chris Anton.
“When you hired this man, you put your faith in him. Law enforcement grants are not easy to get.”
Larry Cleveland said that he was in favor of hiring another officer and accepting a grant, but said the decision should go to a town vote, as matching budgetary funds are needed.
“This is everyone’s tax money and everyone should have a say,” said Cleveland. “Not everyone can afford it.”
The Select Board said the discussion about accepting or denying the grant will come up at a future board meeting.
Nicholas Handy can be reached at 924-7172 ext. 235 or nhandy@ledgertranscript.com. He is also on Twitter @nhandyMLT.