LEYDEN — The Public Safety Advisory Committee met at the municipal offices Wednesday evening to discuss its most recent draft of the agreement with Bernardston for shared policing services.
“This should be considered a draft,” said Chair Elizabeth Kidder, noting that ultimately, the agreement will need to signed by members of both towns’ selectboards, rather than the advisory committee. “But it’s a pretty thorough one, I’m sure.”
Kidder, who said she recently reviewed the draft with Bernardston Police Chief James Palmeri, said the minor changes discussed at Wednesday’s meeting would be reviewed again by Palmeri and other Bernardston officials.
The inter-municipal policing agreement will ensure police coverage in Leyden while long-term plans are formulated, Town Counsel Donna MacNicol had previously explained. The current draft states that once in effect, the agreement would be valid for a minimum of six months.
The Public Safety Advisory Committee was convened in early December and charged with “the task of reviewing the public safety needs of Leyden,” according to the town website. Discussions on the state of policing in town follow the sudden retirement of longtime Police Chief Dan Galvis in October, not long after racist, misogynistic and xenophobic content from emails he shared with other town employees and officers between 2015 and 2016 surfaced. Since then, Lt. Mike Aiken has served as officer-in-charge, leading a department with three other officers.
The interim agreement is based off the same one Leverett and Wendell used until the two towns were able to work out a long-term plan for shared policing services.
Per the draft discussed Wednesday, Leyden would pay Bernardston $5,055 per month for its policing services, a number calculated by Palmeri based on, in part, the number of calls Leyden received over a seven-year study.
“We averaged 494 calls per year, and 10 calls per week,” Kidder said.
The sum includes pay for salaries, overtime, fuel and the cost of uniforms, repairs or mandatory trainings, for example.
“I thought it was a very fair offer,” commented Public Safety Advisory Committee member Anders Ferguson. Others agreed.
Under the proposed agreement, Leyden’s current roster of police officers would need to reapply to work in Bernardston.
The committee members discussed the proposed effective date for the agreement of April 1, a time frame that Selectboard Chair Bill Glabach described as “awfully quick.”
“It’s just neater and cleaner, at least, to wait until May 1,” Glabach said.
Selectboard member Erica Jensen said she can see how May 1 would be a more “palatable date.”
“That gives us 60 days to work with Bernardston,” she said. “It’s a rather slow process. That also gives the grant money time to settle and figure out exactly what that is.”
The Efficiency and Regionalization grant, of up to $100,000, would allow Leyden to contract with the University of Massachusetts Boston’s Edward J. Collins Jr. Center for Public Management to conduct a public safety services feasibility study. If awarded this spring, the study would need to be completed by June 2023.
The 60 days, Jensen said, would also allow ample time for Palmeri and his officers to work out office hours and conduct any necessary interviews for hiring.
Committee members expressed no objection to modifying the draft to include an effective date of May 1 as opposed to April 1.
The draft agreement also includes the creation of an advisory committee appointed to meet monthly to discuss any issues encountered with providing services to Leyden, or any recommendations or modification to the agreement. The chief will also be expected to submit a monthly report to the selectboard of each town, and to appear before the boards if necessary.
The draft also states that Leyden agrees to transfer ownership of its current police cruiser fleet to Bernardston, to be auctioned off. Money raised from the sales will be put toward maintaining Bernardston’s current police cruiser fleet, the draft states.
Additionally, the draft states Leyden should consider budgeting for a replacement cruiser in its fiscal year 2023 budget.
“Maybe there can be some wiggle room here,” Ferguson said. “Maybe we suggest that whatever proceeds we get from the sale of our fleet go toward a new cruiser.”
He suggested, as a middle ground, that the first $2,000 generated goes toward maintenance of the Bernardston fleet, and anything above that goes toward the next cruiser.
Committee members agreed that would be a good compromise.
Before adjourning, committee members and the Selectboard addressed concerns that the public has raised that the town was eliminating its police department.
“Signing this agreement, to some of the public, is getting rid of our police,” committee member Jack Golden said.
Jensen emphasized that with the demands of the Bridge Academy police training program — which critics have said places a heavy financial burden on small-town police departments — it makes sense to move forward with an established system.
Reporter Mary Byrne can be reached at mbyrne@recorder.com or 413-930-4429. Twitter: @MaryEByrne