By Rod Hansen
Staff Writer

Despite a rising number of criminal incidents in Goffstown, Police Chief Michael French has requested no new personnel and only a 1 percent increase in his budget for next year.

From drunk driving to domestic violence, computer crime to juvenile offenses, Goffstown has seen statistics on criminal activity increase substantially over the past year, he said.

French presented selectmen and budget committee members with his budget proposal during the selectmen’s meeting of Monday, Sept. 25.

This year’s budget for police operations totals $3,064,244. French spoke of no major projects for the coming year that would affect his budget requests.

“Our goal is to maintain the level of service the people have come to expect from us,” French said.

The department consists of 42 full-time employees, including 30 sworn officers and 26 part-time employees, French said.

He cited a number of grim statistics facing the police force this year, including nearly 100 more assault cases, an increase in the severity of juvenile offenses and arrests, more burglaries, criminal mischief and arrests for driving while intoxicated.

“The good news, if there is any good news in these graphs, is that motor vehicle crashes are down, and accidents resulting in personal injury are down,” French said. He attributed that decrease to officers’ strict enforcement of speed limits through town.

French said there have been some salary increases to sworn and non-sworn officers, plus rising overtime costs. Some events demanding overtime included investigations, court appearances, holiday pay and police service at town events.

French said there was a substantial amount of overtime accrued during the May floods, but he said the department attempted to control expenses by using salaried personnel as often as possible.

For example, French said he recalled attorney Kerry Steckowych manning a traffic post at 2 a.m. one Sunday during the height of the emergency.

Plans for station improvements this year include $4,000 for construction of a gated impound lot outside the station. That lot would measure 20-by-25 feet on an area of police department property that is now gravel, French said. The vehicles would be covered by tarps, as constructing an indoor garage for the vehicles would have been cost prohibitive, he said.

The budget also includes a $65,000 line item for fuel expenses, calculated at $2.25 per gallon for a fleet traveling 300,000 miles per year.

Capital expenditures for the department includes $119,000 for police vehicles, comprising three used Ford Crown Victorias to be used as police cruisers and one Chevy Blazer for use as an animal control vehicle.

The Capital Improvements Program also lists $44,544 for improvements to police communications software. The communications department provides dispatch services for Goffstown, New Boston and Weare, and is currently running software approximately seven years old, French said.

Before presenting his budget overview, French presented selectmen with an award from Volunteer New Hampshire recognizing the efforts of the Community Emergency Response Team during the May floods.