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Before Throwing Money Around

I think a few questions need to be answered first before throwing money around. What is the current population of Old Saybrook? What is the present number of police officers, full- and part-time? In the surrounding towns with similar populations, what size is the police force? When an officer leaves the force, is there always an exit interview? If not, why? And if yes, where is that information? That is information that should be made public to help understand Why the officer is leaving. What is the status of similar police departments (population and force size) in the area regarding employee retention? What are those departments doing to retain their workforce?

I like the referral bonus for existing officers, but I question the need for a signing bonus and/or salary increase unless our current rates are under the area average.

I would suggest having an independent questionnaire for current officers regarding their work environment and potential improvements to be reviewed by the police commission and first selectman only, not by the police chief.

All these ideas are to help our police department and its officers.

Ken Soudan

Old Saybrook