Saugus police budget proposal on review

SAUGUS – The Police and Fire department budgets went under the microscope Wednesday night, as the Saugus Finance Committee continued going through the proposed 2014 budget.With officers responding to 20,000 calls, making 500 arrests and issuing 2,400 citations, Police Chief Dominic DiMella said everything in his $5.4 million budget allows the department to “do its job.”DiMella said some of his goals this year are to bring back a full-time working drug unit to “respond to increased drug activity,” and to implement a crime mapping system to “put officers in locations where crimes are occurring.”?It?s not only a Saugus problem but a nation-wide problem,” said DiMella about the drug issue in town.DiMella also said the neighborhood watch program has been so successful he?s hoping to expand it to other neighborhoods.Finance Committee member Maureen Dever asked about raises for the administrative assistant and clerk, to which Town Treasurer/Collector Wendy Hatch explained the two employees are planning to retire next year and the salary is overlapping with that for two new employees.DiMella also said the $700,000 for overtime is sufficient for the department.?We?re still in a situation where if someone takes a day off, we fall below minimum manning,” said DiMella. “Until we get these guys out of the academy, we?re going to be at that level.”Fire Chief Donald McQuaid said the $500,000 set aside for firefighter overtime should be enough to keep the Essex Street Fire Station open, to which Town Manager Scott Crabtree agreed.?One of the things that has had a positive impact is that we?ve had four firefighters and one back from deployment, which has had a reduction in overtime,” he said.Crabtree also said $9,700 set aside for a deputy chief will go to an existing captain and will help “give more stability” in the department.?An organization this size really calls for a deputy chief,” he said.The Fire Department has a recommended $3.8 million budget.In other business, Dever asked Crabtree how he transferred $54,000 to the library without a Town Meeting vote and wanted to know why the budget for the Saugus Cable Television Station isn?t included in the town budget.Crabtree said the money was from an insurance settlement and compared it to a grant coming from an outside agency. Crabtree also noted that the transfer was recommended by the town?s auditors and said they will draft a letter explaining. He said town attorney Ira Zaleznik will also write a letter explaining the SCTS budget.Matt Tempesta can be reached at [email protected].