The Town Council has unanimously authorized Town Administrator John Anderson to apply for and accept two grants from the New Hampshire Highway Safety Agency.
The grants, for $5,720 each, will be directed toward Pedestrian Safety and Red Light Enforcement.
Police Chief Edward Garone presented the request at the May 21 meeting.
Garone said each grant would fund 88 hours of officer overtime, at $50 per hour, for a personnel cost of $4,400, plus an estimated $1,320 “roll-up cost” for each, totaling $5,720 for each project.
Responding to an earlier concern by Councilor Mark Osborne, Garone said the funds cover all aspects of the two patrols, with the exception of prosecution of cases. But bringing these cases to prosecution is “very infrequent,” Garone said.
Councilor Al Dimmock asked, “Does this involve overtime?”
Garone said all the shifts for the two extra patrols would be officers called in on overtime. “That way, we do not diminish or detract from our normal patrols,” he said.
Osborne said some of his constituents had approached him and spoken favorably of the bicycle patrols. “Would this be utilized for that?” he asked.
Garone said the bike patrols are a separate issue and not part of the grant.
It’s a popular program, and “we will maintain it as long as we can,” he said of the bike patrols.
The patrols will take place through Sept. 15, Garone wrote in a memo.
The Council voted 7-0 to authorize Anderson to apply for and accept the grants.
