Ashfield police chief requests $84K budget boost to attract candidates

ASHFIELD — As they continue to review budget requests for fiscal year 2027, Selectboard and Finance Committee members are hopeful that increasing the Police Department budget by $84,355 would help attract candidates.

Police Chief Beth Bezio told the committees this week that she believes increasing her department’s budget to $266,823, representing a 46.13% increase from fiscal year 2026, would allow the town to offer a competitive wage and attract qualified candidates. Of the requested amount, $72,000 would be used to hire a full-time sergeant.

“I did add a request for a full-time officer at $72,000. Two years ago, we tried at $60,000 and we didn’t get much of a response,” Bezio recounted.

Currently, Bezio is the department’s only full-time employee. Assisting her are a part-time officer and a clerk who handles payroll and other paperwork.

“I’m not scared to death by it being 46% increased,” Selectboard Chair Tom Carter said. “Out of the $84,000 increase, $72,000 of it is just having that second officer.”

The rest of the requested budget increase would fund a $3,964, or 4.2%, increase in Bezio’s salary, an $8,378 increase in the part-time officer’s salary, an $806 increase in the clerk’s wages and a $183 increase in police detail wages.

The boards also reviewed capital requests and budget requests from the Energy Committee, Senior Center, Council on Aging, Wastewater Treatment Plant and Franklin Regional Council of Governments.

The town is planning for $364,709 in capital costs in FY27, which would entail getting a new pickup truck and tractor blower for the Highway Department, buying a police cruiser, and handling repairs and upgrades at Town Hall and the library, including paving, door repairs and chair replacements.

The town is expecting a $3,613 decrease in funding to the Senior Center, with a $58,228 total budget for senior services, a level-funded $188,460 budget for the Wastewater Treatment Plant, a $4,180 increase for a total of $45,982 in assessments to FRCOG, and a $5,000 increase, or potentially more, to the Energy Committee budget.

Energy Committee Chair Alex Osterman told the boards that the committee was unable to hire an energy manager as planned last year, and hopes to allocate the $20,000 of the budget it didn’t spend to increase the salary being offered for that position as the committee prepares to look for candidates. She added that further committee research found that the going rate for a part-time energy manager is closer to $60,000, so adding $20,000 to the $25,000 budget request would bring it closer to a competitive rate.

Selectboard and Finance Committee members said they would like to support the Energy Committee’s goal of hiring an energy manager who can assist in various projects and apply for grants to make the work possible, but they are still early in the budget review and unsure whether setting aside the $20,000 is feasible at this time.

“This is one of those positions that actually pays us back,” Finance Committee Chair Ben Markens said. “If I give you $2 and you give me back $5, I would do that every day.”

The boards will continue to review budget requests from the town’s various departments and committees in the coming weeks.

“We’re not at the end of the train yet,” Carter said.

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