Departments

Transcript (~27 min @ 1:12)

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▶ 1:03 Jen Grigoraitis: no one to speak in public comment all motion by unanimous consent to close public comment. Seeing no objection public comment is now closed our first matter of business. This evening is various Department budgets and first up. We have Department 211 the Melrose police department and joining us is Chief Lyle welcome Chief and while you're getting settled at the table. I will entertain a motion to suspend the rules so we can hear from the chief.

▶ 1:30 Jen Grigoraitis: Oh, we have a motion to spend the rules made by President sinela seconded by counselor Eccles all in favor. Any opposed the rules are suspended welcome Chief the floor is yours. I have

▶ 1:41 Speaker 2: to point out. Was brought to my attention today. There was two typos. on the PowerPoint presentation one under the line of 53 that should start off with fy22 requested budget for 23 and Budgeted for 23 you can see it. It starts with 21 and the same is true on line 54 the next page. So my apologies to the council for that. I will have clean copy sent to everybody tomorrow.

▶ 2:21 Speaker 2: Thank you for the backdrop shortly. I like to thank every member of the Melrose Police Department the last 12 months. We're still we're still dealing with covid from time to time and I have to thank every police officer and supervisor in the police department for all that done over the past 12 months.

▶ 2:50 Speaker 2: as far as I

▶ 2:55 Jen Grigoraitis: Can't reach it five minutes. We'll take a five minute recess so we can fix the window situation.

▶ 3:10 Jen Grigoraitis: One reason thank you councilor pay for the assistance Chief. Please continue. There's a

▶ 3:15 Speaker 2: new program that we started on the police department. I don't know if you're familiar with it. We have a clinician now. She works in my office. It's the only space available for so she's in my small conference room. Her name is Tony Cochran. We started this plant about four years ago, and we finally got there late last year and it's a win-win for our community part of the program is we're building a hub program for the city to deal with homelessness. Folks with addiction that still very prevalent in this community and it was very prevalent during covid as that number showed as well as mental health is another big problem for our community and any Community around so we are building a team and place we have DCF involved the dmh Department of Mental Health. We have Melrose Wakefield on board. The city side has a social worker through the health department as well as Mystic Valley Elder services and it is growing as we speak Melrose housing authority to assist folks on our community. We will be having an open house at the Milano Center in the month of June try and coordinate it so it doesn't impact you with your budget meetings. But we will find a date we'll give you a couple dates. So you all can attend if you would like.

▶ 4:32 Speaker 2: We also have a new task force officer team canine Giselle. I don't know if you've seen her. She's pretty famous out right there on social media now and our Handler Sean Morris so that and we have another Task Force officer as a detective assigned to the DEA and then other canine Nero with their the Handler is Brian Tran. With that I'm available for questions as the budget is presented.

▶ 4:59 Speaker 3: Thank you Chief. And I know Council Garrett pay had a question.

▶ 5:02 Mark Garipay: Thank you Chief. Thank you for being here. Congratulations. I think are in order for your last budget.

▶ 5:09 Speaker 2: With us number 15. Yes it is. Thank you for

▶ 5:11 Mark Garipay: that. Question on overtime. Yes is the overtime. Is there any that reimbursable is in your cover related reimbursable through any of the Federal funds or will be coming back to your department through that.

▶ 5:28 Speaker 2: Yes. Yes, and no so some of our overtime for 911 training for instance is through a state Grant the 911 program that covers the training 16 hours for every officer supervisor in the building this DEA task force, which is a detective assigned to the DEA. The detective is out on a call out for the DEA for investigation. That over time is reimbursable. That's it.

▶ 5:54 Mark Garipay: Okay, so I see that it's budgeted. Sorry.

▶ 6:02 Speaker 4: Had it right here.

▶ 6:08 Mark Garipay: over time was spent 497 and 20 20 21 budgeted 4:57 this past year. You're at 671 and we're only up to 482. It looks like you're recommendation was 530,000. Can you just explain a little bit on? Is 482,000 going to be enough? What?

▶ 6:32 Speaker 2: I'm looking very honest with the council. I know in July first that a budget will budget will not make it until the end of the year. There's always moving variables people come people go illness injury military deployments the past couple years. It's been covid very it was prevalent a police department and family members. That's all changed now. It's sick time, but I can give you a breakdown on our overtime if you like.

▶ 7:04 Speaker 2: Excuse me.

▶ 7:18 Speaker 2: It's it's the second page from the back. You can see where the money spent I'm sick backfill is a big number and that a lot of that is covid related offices or family members that have contracted the illness. I caught overtime as caught overtime that's pretty straightforward, but the courts were often courts were closed and then they dialed back and now I think there's another uptick so I dial back again. So those numbers may drop.

▶ 7:46 Speaker 2: The grants is the 911 training Grant. Minimum Manning's a big one. We we have a minimum of three offices per shift.

▶ 7:57 Speaker 2: And anything Falls below that it's an automatic over time minimum meaning. Our staffing levels have taken a hit this past year. We are in the process of hiring six new officers. That's just going to keep us status quo where we're at. We have three officers leaving one's leaving for a transfer to Western Mass the family home families moving out there. one officers retiring the end of July and we have another officer that is looking to be hired by the city of Everett and their Police Department as a straight hire off the list. So come come August first. We're essentially going to have 14 performing a sign of shifts. That's a very low number. It's concerning to me. The other parts are all caught prosecutor sros. detectives traffic officer by contract so there are many moving parts and there's there's only so many bodies. So we're constantly forcing. That's why our overtime numbers what they are. A lot of these officers work Double-Double and there's a huge fatigue Factor on an officer comes in on the day shift expecting to go home go out to dinner go to a movie or whatever. It may be. They're forced. They're stuck and it happens quite frequently. every week

▶ 9:17 Mark Garipay: So in your presentation, you said this 33 offices? The six that we have we hired this year is that included in the 33? And the three that we're going to No, we're going to lose we're gonna end up at 33 where we're gonna end up saying so for the numbers for for August

▶ 9:34 Speaker 2: for us for instance for a good date. We'll be down to 30 patrolman 30 of that 30 patrolman, and I'm assigned a dispatch. three detectives two sros one prosecutor In one traffic officer leaving us with 14. It's actually 14 and a half because it's eight and a half petrol that run dispatch that leaves the city with. 14 half offices seven days a week 63 shifts a week rotating you can see how they get very tired very quickly fatigued and concerns me very much. So

▶ 10:13 Mark Garipay: I also saw in there you have. Look into move, so someone into a resource officer in the middle school, which I 100% support but there's I gonna take an office. So that's gonna

▶ 10:25 Speaker 2: take an officer off the street before the office are out of control. Yes.

▶ 10:27 Speaker 4: And okay.

▶ 10:34 Speaker 2: What do you think the ideal? I guess it's 44. I would love to have 44 officers. We could do great things in the community with that but certainly 30 33 or 34 is not enough. Not enough for our community.

▶ 10:46 Speaker 4: Okay.

▶ 10:48 Speaker 2: You know if I make counsel, there was a management study done in 2012 11 12, and they said that the numbers we had at that time was about the Was certainly not adequate but 44 was excessive. I begged it different with the management, but we have never got up to anywhere close to 44.

▶ 11:11 Mark Garipay: I think that's it for me. Personally. I just want to thank you for your service.

▶ 11:16 Speaker 4: What the years stand that but,

▶ 11:20 Mark Garipay: but I appreciate it. You always get back to us or at least for me when I call you. I usually get a phone call backs within a few hours, and that's much everybody in.

▶ 11:27 Speaker 2: This race doesn't have my vacuum number. Something's missing. Feel free to call me. I always answer if I don't shame on me.

▶ 11:35 Speaker 3: Thank you. Thank you any other counselors with questions?

▶ 11:40 Leila Migliorelli: Basedramically rally thank you madam chair. Thank you Chief file for being here tonight. Just one quick clarifying question on the last I think it's the last two pages the presentation Revenue collected and fy22 to date is Less than the previous two fiscal years and then this the page after that goes to overdue payments analysis. Is that is that part of this? Is there a pot? Yes. Okay. So looking at that chart. These are the outdo payments.

▶ 12:12 Speaker 5: Do those usually end up? Being fulfilled by the end of the fiscal year is like do you anticipate all of these overdue payments to come due by June 30

▶ 12:22 Speaker 2: some of those carrier to years summer summer companies went out of business. We chase them the city writes it off. I mean, there's no way to go. We had an opportunity to take them to court we would

▶ 12:33 Leila Migliorelli: Is the largest so what's the largest am reading the color correctly that it's Melrose Public Works, or is that not?

▶ 12:45 Speaker 2: DP DPW is number one a lot of their projects are run through grants when the reimbursement comes in we get we get paid someone like I don't want to pick on the mayor's office on Melrose High School, but those are all. Community projects summer stroll home for the holidays. Those are all covered by the police department. All those are overtimes are details that are covered by the police department and we wait for the auditor's office to reconcile and the money gets moving and it all comes out of a salary and wager overtime to cover those expenses. So it

▶ 13:18 Speaker 5: all most of it unless it's like we should be all cleaned up on on

▶ 13:21 Speaker 2: or about July June 30.

▶ 13:26 Jen Grigoraitis: JD

▶ 13:29 Manjula Karamcheti: Cheap Lyle, thank you so much for being here. And for everything that you do this is just a quick question extended from the question counselor garapay was asking you but can you break it down for me? So what it looks like like day to day if you have a 31 officers, you did a great job reviewing sort of all the different positions. Like how many police officers do you have available per shift to answer to anything that might come up in the city of Melrose like whether it be a college field, you know speeding whatever like how many people do you have available? Because it sounds like there are a lot of specific roles like just bad the sros. So like what does that leave you for shift in terms of like Manpower I use the word.

▶ 14:13 Speaker 5: Yeah, well, that's what I'm hearing. For instance.

▶ 14:15 Speaker 2: I don't know if you folks know. I number one calls for services Melrose Wakefield Hospital. I've made no bones about it. We're up there every day, right and it takes two police officers. We have three. There's your numbers first acts that that's we're going to Melrose waiting for fortunate. We have an additional body. We'll have four. And usually we have a massage on every shift and a supervisor inside yours on the days evenings and the overnights one dispatch. But a minimum Manning is three per shift. 24/7 but every domestic politics to officers so you can see where we struggle to do extra Duty as far as traffic enforcement they'll set up there'll be there 15 minutes and then they get a call and they're gone and then people get upset. Geez, you know, why isn't that police officer here? Well on the day shift, we have a full-time traffic officer officer brownie does a very good job. He's a he's a contractual position. If it's an emergency, like they had an emergency at the hospital this afternoon. He went up there with that the whole shift went up there. Right. She's in the building. Everybody went up there.

▶ 15:17 Manjula Karamcheti: Yeah, thank you so much for explaining that I think it's so helpful to get a better picture of what that actually looks like in terms of like a day in the life of the city of Melrose and how many officers we have available to

▶ 15:31 Speaker 2: us. Thank you. So other things we do it this past weekend, we are fortunate Saturday night. We had a bicycle officer that's all but you have to understand that most of these offices already worked there 50 60 hours a week not details, but over time and a lot of them do a double double which is they'll pair up with another officer. I'll do a day in an evening or an evening and an overnight tonight. You do the same tomorrow night and we can't have them work 24 hours a day. It's just not healthy. Not saying it's 16 hours a days is healthy all week long either, but that's what they do. So and then you see on the details the revenue that comes into the police department from the details and that's why you saw the spike. That was the the endless project on Howard Street. That's why that number was so high our Advent fee that year.

▶ 16:17 Manjula Karamcheti: Yeah, thank you so much. I really appreciate you breaking it down for us.

▶ 16:22 Speaker 6: So thorough bremsky. If you're say if you're responded to the hospital on like a Friday I said day night for someone who maybe being transported there from a nearby community and you guys get there and you deescalate the situation. To offices from other nearby communities ever respond to Melrose Wakefield Hospital or is it

▶ 16:43 Speaker 2: just strictly mauroast on occasion. We you know, we'll call from Mutual aid, but that's very rare. Very very I try to take

▶ 16:48 Speaker 6: care of our own. All right? No, I get it. That's within.

▶ 16:52 Speaker 2: The city I know you so everybody in the room knows what I know that I've been dealing with since the management study.

▶ 16:59 Speaker 2: And for to hire a new officer from day one, do we get the list to the day that they're ready for their for patrol? He's about 12 months 11 and a half 12 months. To all the kids are in the academy now, we won't see them till Christmas.

▶ 17:14 Speaker 3: any other Council Williams

▶ 17:17 Ryan Williams: Thanks. And you mentioned details and it's something that I don't fully understand. So if you've got a minute appreciate you helping me out with it. I'm here all night, whatever it takes. So on the slide for administrative fees collected is that primarily detail payments? That's all that that's all it is the detail payment. So but I like, you know, let's take FY 21. It completed year about 282,000 but the total amount of detail salary that comes out is higher than that, right? Yes. Like I mean I 2020 I saw numbers that were more like 600,650,000, right? Is is that in is that all over time considered over time or is it regular shift pay

▶ 18:00 Speaker 2: or is it it's a detail rate for the city of 64 dollars an hour? Okay. Now the average patrolman's $35 an hour for overtime. So what would you rather do? Yeah, for sure. Yeah, they

▶ 18:11 Ryan Williams: get it. Yeah. I guess I was thinking too about the number of police and the shifts and the fact that guys are working and I know that folks want to work, you know, they want to

▶ 18:24 Speaker 2: work the time but yes or no. Yeah. Well, so

▶ 18:25 Ryan Williams: this gets to my question. Is it is it concerning at all that we have? The collective bargaining agreement requirement for police to do traffic details when we're this thin on officer numbers, like if you had a choice, would you rather be able to choose? To have civilian flaggers at some locations to give officers time to rest to to be more flexible with how you're assigning

▶ 18:53 Speaker 2: shifts see the details on the problem. It's the overtime because details we have retirees that fill the vacant details as well. Okay, so and then we have a pool of neighboring Police Department. So when we were real heavy with details during covid every Department around here was coming to mostly oh my gosh, you know because they weren't having any details and we had that electrical project. There are two years so that wasn't a problem. It's the overtime. I see I see. Okay. All right. I appreciate that. That's elective too. By the way. That's there's nothing forced on that. Right? Absolutely understood. Thank you. You're welcome.

▶ 19:25 Mark Garipay: Council grape. Yeah, I'm sorry Chief just spocked another question when you were talking on the overdue payments. We see Melrose Wakefield Hospital here. You mentioned that

▶ 19:34 Speaker 4: we're up there every day.

▶ 19:38 Mark Garipay: We have a ordinance an ordinance on our books for troubled properties. We know we've done it with particular houses in my wood. And we ever discussed with the hospital if we're up there and they're not profit. It's great. They're in that they're in their community hospital, but there are also using a lot of our services taken away from other residents have we have looked at brought them to the table to try to discuss on what we can do in order what they can do in order Put more Security in the air or I look the reimburse us

▶ 20:12 Speaker 2: for some of the council. I looked at that ordinance very well. I thought we could be applied in the city solicitor had a different point of view than mine that it can't be applied. Really, so we're still Going to the hospital when we get a call for service.

▶ 20:26 Speaker 4: Okay. Thank you.

▶ 20:28 Speaker 3: counselor Eccles

▶ 20:29 Jack Eccles: Thank you madam chair. Thanks for being here. Chief. So the talk about the spike in the revenue collected. Are we like anticipating closer to like 200,000 this year and kind of stable from assuming that there's none other big project. Is that kind of what we're looking at? And is it just lower because obviously we have another month and

▶ 20:52 Speaker 2: a half of Revenue to collector. You know, I would say for comfortable number. It's probably 175 annually for the admin fee.

▶ 20:59 Jack Eccles: And then just talking about like the difference between details and over time over time is something that you know, someone calls out sick. That's when someone gets over time, right? It's not so no one is doing a detail and getting over time at the same time. Oh,

▶ 21:11 Speaker 2: no that we I audited myself. Okay. We are at the details of faithfully. There's a lieutenant audits it and then I got it on top of that. No, no my watch little thank you enough departments have gone through that. We're not going to be one of them.

▶ 21:27 Jack Eccles: Perfect. I think that was my only question. Thanks for being here. I look forward to serving with you on the traffic commission for a few more months.

▶ 21:35 Jen Grigoraitis: Thank you Chief and congratulations on your 15th and final budget presentation. And I know that we look forward

▶ 21:42 Speaker 2: to having more like a moving out of the state. You have to

▶ 21:43 Speaker 3: come to budget presentations anymore. And I know we my hair will start growing again.

▶ 21:46 Speaker 2: I don't know. Well, we

▶ 21:50 Jen Grigoraitis: look forward to seeing you again before retirement and I do

▶ 21:53 Speaker 2: have one question. I have the revolve an account. Is that up tonight or not? Is not

▶ 21:59 Speaker 3: up tonight. No.

▶ 22:04 Jen Grigoraitis: Oh, that's next week. So what we should be good. So I will entertain a motion to move the bottom line. So we have a motion to move the bottom line on Department 211 made by counselor Carm Shady seconded by counselor Eccles Mr. Clerk. Can you please call the roll?

▶ 22:20 Speaker 1: Vice chairman mcgrally, yes. Counselor Eckles, yes. Counselor garpy. Yes counselor jamaladin Councilor Carm Shady. Yes. Counselor bremski. Yes counselor Williams. Yes. President. Snella. Yes. Andrew garitus please. Yes.

▶ 22:43 Speaker 3: Mine, yes. I guess thank you chief.

▶ 22:48 Jen Grigoraitis: Next up. We have Department 151 city solicitor. There was a memo in on both the website and attached to the packet. What is the will of this committee?

▶ 23:00 Speaker 7: counselor Eccles motion move the bottom line second

▶ 23:02 Jen Grigoraitis: We have a motion to move the bottom line on Department 151 made by counselor Eccles seconded by councilor Williams Mr. Clerk. Can you please call the roll?

▶ 23:10 Speaker 1: Vice chairman early. Yes counselor Eccles Yeah Council gerepe. Yes counselor. Jamaladin councilor crime Shady. Yes counselor bremski. Yes counselor Williams. Yes president. Sonella. Yes and check your grace. Yes, it's fine. Yes.

▶ 23:28 Jen Grigoraitis: Next we have Department 241 inspectional services.

▶ 23:36 Speaker 3: Vice chair Migliorelli motion to move the bottom line second. We have

▶ 23:38 Jen Grigoraitis: emotions move the bottom line on Department 241 made by Vice Chair Migliorelli seconded by president sanela. Mr. Clark

▶ 23:47 Speaker 1: Vice chairman literally, yes. Counselor Eckles, yes. Counselor garpy Yes concert. Jamala, Dean countertime Shady. Yes. Counselor bremski. Yes counsel Williams. Yes, president. Sonella. Yes and chair Gratis. Yes, that's not yes.

▶ 24:04 Jen Grigoraitis: Nine. Yes. Next we have inspectional service revolving account number 2658.

▶ 24:12 Ryan Williams: Motion to move the bottom line second. We

▶ 24:15 Jen Grigoraitis: have emotions to move the bottom line on revolving account number 2658 made by councilor Williams seconded by president. Cinella. Clark

▶ 24:24 Speaker 1: Vice chairmanelli. Yes. Counselor Eccles. Yes castlegarapy. Yes counciloridine Council crime shooting councilor bremski. Yes counselor Williams. Yes, president. Sonella. Yes and shared a greatest. Yes. That's nine. Yes.

▶ 24:41 Speaker 3: Department 540 BB estate Vice charmingly Riley motion to move the bottom line

▶ 24:49 Jen Grigoraitis: Thank you, even motions move the bottom line and Department 540 made by Vice chairman glorelli seconded by counselor Eccles. Mr. Clark

▶ 24:57 Speaker 1: Vice chairmanelli. Yes. Counselor Eccles. Yes Council Garipay pay. Yes Council Jamal Dean Council crime Shady. Yes counselor bremski. Yes counsel Williams. Yes president. Sonella. Yes and Cherokee writers. Yes, that's fine. Yes. Yes BB

▶ 25:12 Jen Grigoraitis: estate revolving account number 2750

▶ 25:17 Speaker 5: Motion move the bottom line second. We have

▶ 25:19 Jen Grigoraitis: a motion to move the bottom line on revolving account number 2750 be a state made by Vice chairmagliarelli seconded by president sanela.

▶ 25:28 Speaker 1: Mr. Clark Vice chairmanelli. Yes counselor Eccles. Yes castlegarapy. Yes Castle Geraldine. Yeah, cancer crime Shady. Yes, sir. Bremski. Yes counselor Williams. Yes president sonella. Yes chair greatest. Yes, it's nine. Yes. And yes

▶ 25:43 Jen Grigoraitis: next we have Department 611 Melrose Public

▶ 25:47 Speaker 7: Library motion of the bottom line second. We have

▶ 25:48 Jen Grigoraitis: a motion to move the bottom line and Department 611 made by counselor Williams seconded by president sonella.

▶ 25:55 Speaker 1: Vice chairmanelli. Yes. Counselor Eccles. Yes counsel. Gerepe. Yes counselor. Jamaladin. Yes counselor crime Shady. Yes counselor bremski. Yes counselor Williams. Yes, president. Sonella. Yes and chair Grigoraitis. Yes, that's nine. Yes.

▶ 26:11 Jen Grigoraitis: Department 141 Assessor

▶ 26:16 Speaker 6: motion with the bottom line second. We have a motion

▶ 26:18 Jen Grigoraitis: to move the bottom line and Department 141 made by President sanela seconded by Vice chairman glorelli. click

▶ 26:26 Speaker 1: Vice chairman. Yes. Counselor ecklus. Yes counsel. Gerepe. Yes councilor. Jamaladin Council crime Shady. Yes counselor bremski. Yes counselor Williams. Yes president sonella. Yes. And Trigger guardis. Yes, that's nine. Yes.

▶ 26:42 Jen Grigoraitis: Okay Department 543 veteran services

▶ 26:46 Speaker 6: motion the bottom line

▶ 26:49 Jen Grigoraitis: We have a motion to move the bottom line made and presidents and all the second did by counselor Karm Shady on Department. 543

▶ 26:57 Speaker 1: Vice chairmanelli. Yes. Counselor Eccles. Yes counsagarpe yes counselor jamaladin Council crime Shady. Yes counselor bremski. Yes Council Williams. Yes president sonella. Yes. Trigger girls. Yes. It's 9 yes. And yes.

▶ 27:15 Jen Grigoraitis: veteran revolving account number 2607

▶ 27:18 Speaker 5: motion to move the bottom line second. We have

▶ 27:20 Jen Grigoraitis: emotions move. The bottom line on revolving account number 2607 made by counselor Carm Shady seconded by president. Sonella, Mr.

▶ 27:28 Speaker 1: Clark Vice chairman. Yes counselor Eccles. Yes castlegarapy. Yes councilor Dean. Castle crime Shady. Yes councilor bremsky. Yes counselor Williams president sonella

▶ 27:44 Speaker 1: chair Grigoraitis. Yes, it's nine. Yes

▶ 27:47 Jen Grigoraitis: nine. Yes Department 545 disability commission. I will note that we do not have a memo from the disability commission. However, it is a zero percent budget change. So motion to move the bottom line second. We have a motion to move the bottom line on Department 545 made by counselor Williams seconded by counselor Carm Shady Mr. Clark

▶ 28:06 Speaker 1: one more time. Yeah Vice chairman, really?

▶ 28:13 Speaker 3: Oh, she wrote it. Yes counselor Eccles.

▶ 28:15 Speaker 1: Yes counselor garpy. Yes counselor. Jamaladin. Yeah Council Carm Shady. Yes counselor bremski. Yes Council Williams. Yes. President sonella. Yes and sugar greatest. Yes, that's