FARMINGTON – Selectmen gave Police Chief Richard Caton III permission to purchase a new police cruiser at their meeting Tuesday night.
A 1999 Ford Crown Victoria cruiser blew a head gasket while an officer was at a traffic stop. When the officer headed back to the vehicle, it was engulfed in steam, according to Caton, who is concerned that the vehicle’s engine is damaged beyond reasonable repair.
The cruiser had more than 149,000 miles on it and was the oldest in a fleet of four. Costs to fix the head gasket were estimated to be between $1,600 and $1,800. Replacing the damaged engine would cost about $4,800, he said. The trade-in value on the car is only $1,000 if it were running.
The chief said there is an urgent need to replace the vehicle as soon as possible. He said one of the cruisers is always in the shop, either for repairs or routine maintenance.
Caton said more than $20,000 had been saved in the budget for wages and benefits because of recent attrition in the department. There is also an excess of $2,100 in a vehicle reserve fund. A new cruiser will cost just over $21,000.
The board gave Caton unanimous approval to purchase a new police vehicle and to liquidate the out-of-service car.
In other police business, Caton announced that the department office manager, Rachel Verrill, would like to take the part-time position being vacated by secretary/dispatcher Gloria Maltz effective Friday.
Selectmen agreed to allow Caton to move Verrill to the part-time position, but asked him to consider making Verrill’s current position part-time to save on benefit costs. Caton was concerned that he would not be able to attract a good candidate, but agreed to try.
Selectmen suggested that if the new position were part-time without benefits, they would be able to increase the pay while still saving a significant sum of money. They also gave the chief the ability to re-initiate the search, making the position full-time, if a suitable candidate is not found in the initial attempt.
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