COLRAIN — In light of new police training requirements that indirectly impact small towns’ ability to staff their departments with part-time officers, the Police Department is considering changing its employment structure.
In an early conversation, Police Chief Christopher Lannon presented multiple options to the Selectboard this week. Town Administrator Kevin Fox said the board will likely make a decision on whether and how to change the Police Department’s structure by the end of 2022.
Under the police reform legislation, called “An Act Relative to Justice, Equity and Accountability in Law Enforcement in the Commonwealth,” that was signed into law in 2020, the Bridge Academy’s mandatory training has ceased part-time officer training, and requires all officers to receive full-time training. Many police departments cannot afford to pay the cost of fully training new police officers, and cannot pay competitive wages of already fully trained cops. This change has led many towns, especially in rural areas with small budgets, to reconsider the structure of their departments.
Currently, the Police Department has one 30-hour-per-week chief’s position, and three part-time officers each working 16 hours weekly. Changes the department is considering include hiring a full-time officer, shifting to a full-time chief (who would work 40 hours instead of 30 hours) or a combination of the two. Another option would entail changing wages to better reflect average pay locally.
Lannon said most — about 80% — of his hours are spent doing paperwork. At Tuesday’s meeting, he explained increasing his hours may result in more time patrolling Colrain’s streets, as would hiring a full-time officer.
Another idea entails hiring an administrative assistant for the chief, while not increasing any officers’ hours, a proposal that would allow the chief to spend more time patrolling without relying on officers with completed training.
Lannon also relayed to the Selectboard the average police wages in Franklin County provided by the Franklin Regional Council of Governments (FRCOG): $36.94 per hour for a chief and $23.07 per hour for an officer. By comparison, the chief’s wage in Colrain is $25.05 per hour and the officer wage is $19.76 per hour. Lannon discussed raising the wages to be competitive with other local departments.
With no change in the hours and wages for its four employees, the Colrain Police Department requires $88,398.96 for salaries — $18,654.04 less than the total fiscal year 2023 budget. Hiring a full-time officer, increasing the chief’s role to 40 hours per week and raising wages would cost the town $141,261.12 — $34,208.12 above this fiscal year’s budget. Other options fall in between these two most extreme examples.
The current structure may not continue to work in the future with difficulty hiring officers, Lannon said. The Selectboard will continue evaluating the options and decide in the coming months whether changes should be made.
Reach Bella Levavi at
blevavi@recorder.com or 413-930-4579.