FARMINGTON — A discussion about providing public safety services and funding levels ended Tuesday with selectmen voting unanimously to allow police Chief Jack Peck to fill his staff as he sees fit.

The board met with Peck to discuss staffing needs, overtime costs and department morale.

Peck recently hesitated to fill two department positions while considering concerns of money being tight and whether the board would approve the hires, he said.

Seven applicants faced a police board and citizen oral board in July. The boards recommended three people as “a good fit for Farmington,” he said.

He offered one position but held off on number two, something he now intends to offer, he said Wednesday.

The department has struggled to recruit and retain officers. The last time all 14 positions were filled was in 2009, and that was only for a couple months, he said.

“There’s a good core group of officers now,” he said.  “I’d like to think they are going to stay.”

Next year, three officers need to attend the police academy for 18 weeks. The remaining officers will have to cover those 54 weeks.

“The department has handled 7,000 calls so far this year,” Peck said. “There were 9,200 calls last year. We’ll surpass that number. It’s taken a toll on the officers. They get tired when they work too much overtime.”

Overtime has been covered, but at a cost.

Voters approved $83,000 for overtime in the 2013 police budget. So far, $61,000 has been spent leaving $22,000 for the rest of the year, he said. 

A July 1 change to permanent shifts has helped reduce overtime, but Peck expects to spend $122,000 in overtime this year, he said. 

The department is also down $10,000 in revenue earned from parking tickets, traffic crash reports and requests for copies of cases, he said.

Costs aside, “the department is reactive instead of proactive,” Peck said.

Speed enforcement is down — 30 percent fewer speeding tickets issued — while burglaries are up 111 percent, he said.

Without filling the positions, ramifications could include slower response times or the need to tell victims of burglaries to come in and fill out a report. Perhaps, no investigation will be provided, he said.

“We’ll have to triage the calls and might not be able to respond,” he said. “At times, there is no manpower to respond effectively.”

The board asked about using other agencies, such as county deputies and reserve officers. The county helps out immensely but usually only has two officers covering the county from Jay to Coburn Gore. Reserves can’t keep up with weekly training changes within the department, he said.

“The idea was to not fill the positions for a couple years until revenue sharing comes back and things improve,” Selectman Joshua Bell said. He felt citizens wouldn’t see a change in coverage as the department has operated for four years at low-staff.

Town Manager Richard Davis advised the board to not let the town “play the game of public safety versus funding until citizens tell us they are satisfied with less coverage,” he said. “While revenues are here, we’re obligated to provide. The state will do what it does. We need to be diligent to provide public safety, that’s most important.”

“This is a momentous decision,” audience member Betty Jespersen said, seeking a community decision. “More people should know.”

Board of Selectmen Chairman Ryan Morgan wasn’t looking for a decision Tuesday. Bell wanted to wait for a full board at the Aug. 13 meeting but Selectman Jessica Berry was ready to make a motion.

“Townspeople did not approve $122,000 in overtime — they budgeted for 14 police officers this year,” Morgan said. “In my mind — why wait three weeks?”

With Selectman Andrew Hufnagel absent, the board voted 4-0 to accept her motion.

abryant@sunjournal.com