NEWINGTON POLICE COMMISSION MINUTES

There was a meeting of the Newington Commissioners on Tuesday, June 6, 2017 at 4:00 p.m. at the police department.

PRESENT: Chairman Steve Prefontaine, Commissioner Kenneth Latchaw, Commissioner Jack Hoyt, Chief Michael Biloeau and Diana St.Laurent.

I

CALL TO ORDER

Chairman Prefontaine called the meeting to order at 4:15 p.m.

II

MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETINGS

A. Accept Minutes – On a MOTION by Commissioner Latchaw and seconded by Commissioner Prefontaine, the Commissioners voted unanimously to accept the minutes from the May 9, 2017 meeting as written.

B. Non-Public Minutes – The minutes were previously signed and sealed as written.

III

POLICE COMMISSION INFORMATION

A. Staff Update – Commissioner Prefontaine asked the Chief how Officer Tim Gordon is doing. The Chief said that he is on midnights with Officer Appelbaum as his FTO until he attends the NHPS&TC at the end of August.

B. Other Police Commission Business –

1. The Commissioners reviewed and initialed the purchase order file.

2. The Commissioners reviewed the current 2017 budget print out – The Chief told the Commissioners that he has sent the application for the DOJ grant for the vests.

There was a discussion about the funding for CALEA; the Chief discussed the processes that can be started in 2017 and the actual funding can be put in the 2018 budget. Commissioner Latchaw suggested that it would be good PR for the Chief to put articles in the Newington newsletter to keep the residents informed of what is being planned for the police department.

3. Funding for the department website – Mrs. St.Laurent told the Commissioners that First Light, formerly Oxford Networks, formerly Bay Ring Communications has notified her that they will no longer host the department website. The website will be removed by August and the files will all be lost if we do not move the website. Mrs. St. Laurent explained that 17 years ago, when she built the website, she used FrontPage 2000 software and now Microsoft no longer supports that particular software. She asked the Commissioners to have the website done professionally and brought into the 20th century with the new technology. Mrs. St. Laurent said that she has received one estimate for $3,750. Commissioner Prefontaine said that he will have Helpful Website contact me for another estimate.

IV

OLD BUSINESS

A. Policy Revisions – The Chief told the Commissioners that he updated the SOP for DUI arrests. The Chief said he did some research through the DOJ and National Institute on Justice regarding overtime. The Chief said that officers are allowed to work 16 hours of straight overtime without any issues so he updated our SOP to reflect the change from 12 hours to 16 hours.

B. Speed Limit on Nimble Hill Road – The Chief said he contacted the DOT and was told that the town has governance over the town road to change the speed limit. They will need to do a traffic survey, the town engineer has to measure the roadway and basically it lies on the Selectmen to handle the issue. The Police Department has nothing to do with changing the speed limit. The Chief said he will contact the Town Hall.

V

NEW BUSINESS

A. Increase in Detail Pay – The Chief said that Newington has one of the lowest rates for details here in the Seacoast. The Chief recommended that the rate be increased from $40.00 to $50.00. On a MOTION by Commissioners Prefontaine and seconded by Commissioner Hoyt, the Commissioners voted unanimously to increase the detail rate to $50.00 an hour, effective immediately.

B. IACP Training for Chief – The Chief said that it is part of his contract to go to training and he would like to attend the four-day IACP training in Philadelphia this year. The Chief said he will get back to the Commissioners with the cost. The Chief said he is hoping to send the Captain next year, the Sergeant the following year and then the supervisory personnel the year after that. The Chief said he expects the training budget to be higher next year because he has plans for training for the officers.

C. Non-Public Session RSA 91-A:3 II(c) Personnel Matter – On a MOTION by Commissioner Prefontaine and seconded by Commissioner Hoyt, on a roll-call vote of 3-0, the Commissioners went into Non-public Session at 4:50 p.m.

On a MOTION by Commissioner Latchaw and seconded by Commissioner Hoyt, on a roll-call vote of 3-0, the Commissioners came out of non-public session at 5:28 p.m.

There were no motions or votes taken in non-public session.

On a MOTION by Commissioner Prefontaine and seconded by Commissioner Hoyt, on a roll-call vote of 3-0, the Commissioners voted to seal the non-public minutes indefinitely.

The Commissioners will interview the 3 candidates for the Captain’s position at the Newington Police Department on Thursday, June 15, 2017 starting at 2:00 p.m.

VI

NEXT MEETING DATE/TIME/LOCATION

The next Commissioners meeting is scheduled for August 1, 2017 at 4:00 p.m. at the Newington Police Department. There is no meeting scheduled in July.

VII

ADJOURNMENT

On a MOTION by Commissioner Latchaw and seconded by Commissioner Hoyt, the Commissioners voted unanimously to adjourn at 5:28 p.m.

For Kenneth Latchaw, Secretary by Diana St. Laurent