SOUTHWICK – At Monday night’s Select Board meeting, Southwick Police Chief David Ricardi went over his proposed FY (Fiscal Year) 2019 budget with the board.
Chief Ricardi had Lt. Bishop alongside him to gain experience since Bishop will be the next Chief of Police upon Ricardi’s retirement in June of this year.
In his comments to the Select Board, Ricardi announced that, “there are no big-ticket items.”
Southwick Police Chief David Ricardi discusses his proposed FY18 budget with the Select Board on Monday evening. (Photo courtesy of Greg Fitzpatrick)
According to Ricardi, the most vital aspect to his proposed budget is the request to purchase two new police cruisers which would cost approximately $32,000 each. Since the Southwick Animal Control Officer is looking to get a new transit vehicle, if the police department were to give animal control their old K-9 vehicle to use, Ricardi said the department would then be able to get three new cruisers. The cost for a new vehicle for the animal control department would be around $27,500.
Another spending item for the police department would be overtime for the employees in the dispatch center. In last year’s budget, there was $20,000 reserved for overtime for dispatch, but Ricardi has requested a $4,000 increase to $24,000 for the upcoming budget. Ricardi also added that it’s projected that the dispatch center will need a new floor by either 2020 or 2021 and that would cost about $60,000. It’s not in this years projected budget as it’s under future expenditures, but it’s an item that Ricardi wanted to make aware to the Select Board well in advance.
