On Feb. 29, during the open meeting of the Board of Selectmen, some very inaccurate statements were made regarding the Appropriations Committee.

During the meeting, Mr. Gorman while speaking to a decision to not renew the contract of Chief Mellis, stated he “blames the Appropriations Committee” for overtime expenditures in the Police Department. He continued to state, “From 2005 to 2016 they gave them a big pot of money and never questioned how it was spent.”  This statement is completely false, misleading, and uninformed. If Mr. Gorman really “blames the Appropriations Committee” as he stated, then why is he not renewing the Chief’s contract and citing overtime use for the reason. It seems Mr. Gorman in content with fabricating issues where they don’t exist, and blaming everyone except his own executive board.

Let’s look at the facts:

The Police Department budget has in fact been the topic of many conversations during the Appropriations Committee’s deliberations over the past few years. Most of these conversations also took place with various members of the Board of Selectman, who also act as the Police Commissioners.

I would refer you to the meeting of Feb. 24, 2015 of the Appropriations Committee, at which Mr. Gorman was in attendance. At this meeting, for over an hour the Police Department budget was discussed. Specifics such as staffing levels, training impact on overtime, general overtime needs and high demand for services and those impacts on expenses were discussed, all in the presence of Mr. Gorman.

Additionally, at the fall 2015 Town Meeting, the Appropriations Committee took a strong position on the overspending of the department’s overtime budget, and the Board of Selectman’s legal account, in violation of state law. If memory serves, Mr. Gorman was also in attendance at that meeting.

Time and time again the Appropriations Committee has expressed concern with the overtime budget of the Police Department. I would remind you that the Appropriations Committee is a recommending body, and not a policy setting board like the Board of Selectmen. It is the job of the Board of Selectmen to impart policies that control spending while ensuring the public’s and police officer’s safety. I would suggest that if Mr. Gorman is concerned with the overtime spent in the Police Department, he need not blame anyone but his own board, who are also the Police Commissioners.

As in the past, this year’s budget recommendations for the Police Department will reflect concern for providing a reasonable level of police protection to our residents, and a reasonable level of safety to our police officers. Unlike the Board of Selectman, the Appropriations Committee has examined the data, researched and evaluated industry standards, spoke to and listened to the chief and evaluated the options given our municipal finances.

Similar processes have been used since 2005, contrary to Mr. Gorman’s statements. Each year the results are the same, without an executive plan to reduce overtime, increase staffing and manage the overtime triggers (most of which are negotiated by the Board of Selectmen), the overtime budget will remain high.

I would ask that future statements made by our town’s Executive Branch members be more accurate, and reflect facts and not personal opinion. The members of the Appropriations Committee take their responsibility to the residents seriously, and work diligently to present the residents with a meaningful budget each year. They deserve to be treated better than to be slandered by members of the Board in an effort to justify his or her own misguided decisions.

Eric Madison
Chair, Appropriations Committee
East Longmeadow