Published: 7/21/2022 7:41:33 PM
Modified: 7/21/2022 7:41:09 PM
GREENFIELD — In favor of an audit process with more community involvement, City Council tabled a request from the mayor to authorize $175,000 to fund an independent audit of the Police Department’s structure, policies and practices.
“The (Ways and Means) Committee decided that we needed to table this,” At-Large Councilor Christine Forgey relayed to the full council on Wednesday night. “We have to have more discussion.”
The motion to table followed the subcommittee’s meeting on Tuesday, during which Precinct 5 Councilor Marianne Bullock presented the concept of a community-led task force to “re-imagine public safety.”
“This task force would meet regularly throughout the duration of the audit,” she explained. “It would provide some oversight to the audit.”
The request to fund an audit comes in the wake of the May 6 jury verdict in a civil lawsuit that found Police Chief Robert Haigh Jr. discriminated against former Officer Patrick Buchanan, the department’s only Black officer at that point, when he was denied a promotion. Mayor Roxann Wedegartner previously explained the audit process, which will require a request for proposals, cannot move forward without funding approved by City Council.
At Tuesday night’s subcommittee meeting, Bullock told councilors that in reviewing other police audits, she found the city’s request for $175,000 to be “on the high side.” She proposed, instead, reducing the budget and using the rest of the money to fund a community-led task force.
The 20-person task force Bullock proposed would consist of members appointed by City Council, with three appointments from the mayor. The group would include representation from City Council, the School Committee and the community at large, particularly those who have been a victim of crime.
“It really is a community-led task force, so it should not be made up of more public safety officials than community members,” Bullock said.
The money appropriated for the task force would fund stipends for those participants, to hopefully allow the inclusion of a broad range of people, and to potentially finance feasibility studies if necessary, Bullock proposed. Long term, she noted, the task force’s role could transform into a departmental position.
Although the role and scope of the task force has not been determined, Wedegartner said Thursday morning that after meeting with Bullock, she has agreed to submit a new financial order of up to $100,000 to fund the Police Department audit and a separate order for up to $75,000 to fund a potential task force.
A handful of residents spoke to the audit during the public comment period Wednesday night, many of whom were in support of the decision to table the authorization request to hopefully also fund a process that would include more community involvement.
“I think there needs to be some kind of citizen participation in the reform process,” said resident Jesus Leyva. “I don’t think it can just be someone from outside the community making determinations about what we think we might need to change in the Police Department.”
Reporter Mary Byrne can be reached at mbyrne@recorder.com or 413-930-4429. Twitter: @MaryEByrne.
