FREEPORT – The Freeport Town Council heard 2013-14 budget requests from the police, fire and public works departments during a capital improvements budget workshop March 19.
The 15-member police force is seeking $25,000 for the purchase of new laptops for five of its eight police vehicles. The request includes the cost of mounting hardware for the computers, said Chief Gerald Scofield.
“These are tough laptops made to withstand harsh conditions. They are basically coffee proof,” said Scofield.
Councilor Kristina Egan told Scofield that the average price of a laptop was $1,200 and asked why these particular machines were so expensive.
“The laptops are in the $2,000 range, but I budgeted for the total cost of the hardware,” said Scofield. “It may be less after I put it out to bid.”
The Public Works Department is seeking to purchase a new plow truck at a cost of $209, 000. The proposal for the truck is listed as two line items – one for the truck chassis replacement at a cost of $115,000 and the other for the dump bed plow and wing attachment for $94,000.
Other public works budget proposals included replacing an aging wood chipper at a cost of $40,000 and a purchasing a pickup truck with a plow attachment, also at an estimated cost of $40,000.
“It (the pickup) was supposed to be replaced in 2011 and we’ve pushed it out well beyond the scheduled replacement time,” said Al Presgraves, town engineer. “If we don’t replace this it’s going to start costing us money.”
Longtime Freeport Fire Chief Daryl Fournier is seeking $15,000 for protective clothing and $30,000 for mobile data terminals. In a nod to fiscal restraint, Fournier dropped a $60,000 request for three thermal imaging cameras.
“To be honest, what we have now is functional and still in good working order,” said Fournier on Monday. “It’s scheduled to be replaced now, but we’ve got a couple of years left at least.”
The proposed capital improvements spending plan for fiscal year 2014 will be the subject of a scheduled public hearing on Tuesday, April 2, at 6 p.m., at the Freeport Town Hall. According to Town Manager Peter Joseph, councilors will formally adopt the capital improvement plan on April 23 per the timetable set forth by the town charter.
“This is an early part of the process, but it gives the Town Council an idea of what each respective department is facing in terms of cost,” said Joseph
During its regular meeting held immediately after the hour and a half workshop, the council approved a parking change that will allow parking on the north side of Holbrook Street after 4 p.m. and before 6 a.m. from Sept. 1 to July 1. Parking from Main Street to the high school has been banned year round. The change was made to help ease after-school parking issues experienced by neighbors of Freeport High School.
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