BY RYAN O’CONNOR

One month after voters reduced Bow’s operating budget by $472,158, selectmen trimmed spending – with road paving and police services taking the biggest hit.

At the May 9 Town Meeting, residents charged selectmen with making the necessary cuts. On Thursday, June 14, with all department heads present, Selectmen Thomas Keane  and Harry Judd outlined their  ideas, thus providing the board with three options, including Town Manager James Pitts’ recommendations from a previous meeting.

After lengthy discussion, the board approved Judd’s proposal, 4-1, including cutting the library budget in half, some road paving and a new police cruiser, which will still be purchased with surplus money later this year.

But the decision didn’t come without its share of debate.

Keane said he focused his proposed cuts on departmental budgets, representing more than a 5 percent increase – the total adjustment approved at Town Meeting – over the current fiscal year.

Among Keane’s proposed cuts were $25,000 from the Fire Department by removing a $4,000 deluge gun, and $21,000 by reducing training, overtime and additional shift hours.

Keane also questioned the need for an associate planner and funding Celebrating Children, the town-run day care program.

Keane paid particular attention to the police department where, he said, $309,000 could be saved by contracting dispatch services with the Merrimack County Sheriff’s Department, removing Bow’s officer from the Attorney General’s Drug Task Force and withdrawing from the regional special operations unit.

Keane said dispatch will cost $402,000 over the next fiscal year and the neighboring towns using the service only contribute $79,000 annually, thus leaving Bow taxpayers with a bill of about $300,000.

While agreeing Bow needs to charge more to other departments using its dispatch services, Selectman Jack Crisp noted there is also a substantial cost for using the Merrimack County Sheriff’s Department’s dispatch.

Keane said a “pure guess,”  estimate would cost the town $30,000 in overtime, training and equipment for Bow to participate in the regional special operations unit.

But other selectmen seemed steadfast in their support of Bow’s participation in the special operations unit.

“It’s too bad you weren’t here the night we had a three-quarter-hour presentation on this unit because I suspect a lot of your questions would have been answered,” Kenison said to Keane.

Police Chief Jeff Jaran also refuted Keane’s “ill-informed logic.”

“I agree with Mr. Keane on one subject and that’s that we agree to disagree,” said Jaran. “I can sleep at night knowing I’m trying to provide the town of Bow with the services they expect, not ‘Hey listen, we’re tied up with a DWI arrest, we’ll get back to you in three hours.”’

The chief said Bow’s dispatch is an invaluable 24/7 service to the community and is used by police, fire and public works departments.

“All we have to do is go back to 2002 when the town looked at the issue and said, overwhelmingly, ‘No, we want a dispatch center here in Bow,’” said Jaran.

Jaran also said he and Pitts are setting up a better system for charging neighboring towns.

He said having an officer in the drug task force is a valuable resource in keeping drugs off the streets and out of the schools.

“Drugs have no borders,” said Jaran. “Manchester and Concord’s drug problem is Bow’s drug problem and you can’t put a dollar amount on what that means to the Police Department and the town.”

Moreover, the Police Department’s participation in the regional special operations unit, said Jaran, provides equipment and personnel from other towns to which Bow ordinarily wouldn’t have access.

“Call it a SWAT team, but it’s so much more than that. It’s not just guys kicking in doors and shooting people,” said Jaran. “The fire departments have been doing this for years and years through mutual aid and it saves money in the long run.”

Though some overtime is involved, the majority of training is held during normal operating hours, he said.

Overtime, in general, is a concern for all departments, said Keane. But Pitts said the town already accounts for all overtime through a thorough time sheet with prior approval, with the exception of emergencies.

Furthermore, said Jaran, overtime is used only when necessary within his department.

“What am I going to say when we have a barricaded subject and we have to hold officers over? ‘We didn’t get your overtime pre-approved, so sorry, no overtime?’” said Jaran.

Judd said, while formulating his proposed cuts, he incorporated Pitts’ proposals from the last meeting along with other selectmen’s ideas.

Though he noted that holding off on guard rails and street paving, among other things, will end up costing the town more in the future, Judd said the board had to make some tough decisions.

One area he said could be easily modified is phasing in the  associate planner and police lieutenant positions, rather than budgeting them for the entire year, saving roughly $25,000.

Recreation was another area Judd said could be cut, including uniforms, supplies and repairs.

“When Harry (Judd) and I spoke about a lot of these cuts, we determined the responsibility would come on the people that use these fields to start doing painting and lining of fields and replacing bases and stuff of that nature,” said Recreation Department Director Cindy Rose.

After both selectmen’s proposals were offered, Crisp  concerns about cutting road paving.

“As I recall the numbers, is that asphalt has been going up 18 to 25 percent. Next year, if we don’t pave the roads this year, it may cost us an additional $40,000 to $50,000,” he said.

Chum Cleverly, public works director, said road deterioration could drive the cost up even higher.

During a brief public comment session, resident Janet Shaw, representing the Heritage Commission, asked the board to keep $2,750 in the budget for supplies, postage and normal preservation activity.

Before voting, Keane offered an amendment to restore $5,000 for the Heritage Commission in Judd’s proposed budget and remove it from police overtime.

“If you’re asking me to choose between the Heritage Commission and the police, I’d have to go with the police,” said Crisp. “The Heritage Commission does wonderful work, but I won’t support it over police.”

Keane’s amendment failed, 3-2, before Judd’s proposal was approved.