Selectmen get charged for tasers

Perhaps it was seeing a big man like School Resource Officer Doug Wall brought to his knees by the device during a recent demonstration, or perhaps it the thought of what a long-term worker's compensation claim could do to the town's budget. In any case, the Board of Selectmen decided last night to recommend a budget that included $11,500 in funding for Tasers (electrode shooting stun guns) for the Police Department. The total figure for the general budget recommended for 2008 by the selectmen is $10,487,316.

Selectmen did not discuss two big-ticket items, however. Those items are a significant building addition for the Police Department and changing the fiscal year from a January 1 to December 31 to a July 1 to June 30 calendar, both of which are expected to be discussed at future selectmen's meetings.

The board voted to recommend allocating money for the Tasers (Thomas A. Swift Electric Rifle) after reviewing a memo from Chief John Markland, in which he reduced his request from Tasers to outfit his department of 21 officers to a bid for 10 of the weapons.

As Town Administrator Evans Juris explained, Markland conducted a survey of his officers, and concluded that only 10 Tasers would be necessary as some officers do not want to use them. In his memo, the chief said that the guns would be used by the on-duty patrol officers, with the implication that they wouldn't be used by officers on special duty, such as for concerts at Meadowbrook or during Bike Week.

For Selectman Connie Grant, it was the thought that an officer with a Taser would be able to subdue an unruly person, whereas that officer might have had to resort to the use of lethal force had he not had a Taser at his disposal. "It could save a life," she said.

Selectman Gus Benavides agreed, and added that the devices could also save the town a lot of money, if they could avoid just one worker's compensation claim. "One bad shoulder, one bad back from an officer who gets into a tussle," he said, could several times over top the $11,500 bill for the ten tasers, which includes training and a five-year warranty.

Finance Director Debra Shackett and Juris had not recommended the expenditure, but not because they didn't think it was a good idea. The administrators had only been recommending "maintenance" budget items, and therefore had trimmed the expenditure from their recommendation. "I think we're all in favor of it," Shackett said. Juris said the devices were "impressive."

The selectmen's recommendation for the general budget more or less mirrored the recommendations made by Shackett and Juris. The next step for the budget will be review by the town's Budget Committee.

Also during the meeting last night, Shackett presented the budget with a spreadsheet predicting an undesignated fund balance to approach $5-million by the end of this year. However, that doesn't mean that the town has a bank account with five large in it, she cautioned. Most of that money is in "receivables," and she doesn't think that the town should touch that money now — it might come in handy should the town decide to make the shift to a different fiscal year because initial funding for an 18-month period will be necessary.