Due to serious concerns about the low number of police officers in town, the Police Commission has voted to ask First Selectman Carl Fortuna to negotiate new incentives with the police union to attract new hires and retain current officers.

Following a lengthy executive session at a Police Commission meeting on July 24, commissioners unanimously voted to request that Fortuna negotiate with the Police Officers Union on the subjects of a hiring bonus program, a finder’s fee program, and a salary increase for currently certified police officers. The commission also voted to recommend that the first selectman conduct an actuarial study of several benefits suggested by Old Saybrook Police Chief Michael Spera and the commission.

Earlier in the meeting, Spera gave a presentation on what he termed a “crisis” facing the department: the staffing level.

Currently, Spera said that there are 17 active officers in Old Saybrook. There are three vacant positions and three officers who are seeking employment elsewhere. The department does have two people slated to start training at the police academy in the coming weeks, though it could be over six months until either of them is out of the academy and ready for patrol.

“For the first time in a very long time, I’m asking my superiors and town leaders for help,” Spera told the commission.

While noting that during his 14-year tenure as police chief, he had been reluctant to “throw money at a problem,” Spera proposed some ideas to the commission that could help attract new officers and retain current ones.

Spera suggested implementing a hiring bonus for two of the vacant positions where a currently certified officer in Connecticut would receive money in four separate installments over 18 months. Spera proposed $20,000 in four $5,000 installments, but the actual number would need to be negotiated.

A second proposal from Spera would be to offer a finder’s fee of $1,500 for current employees who recommend someone who becomes an Old Saybrook Police Officer and lasts at least a year.

A third proposal called for a $10,000 increase for all current employees of the department.

Spera also noted that other police departments in the state offer more comprehensive benefit packages than Old Saybrook does. As a last proposal, Spera suggested looking at what can be done to change that in Old Saybrook. According to Spera, a state statute requires the town to conduct an actuary study on what it would cost to alter employee benefits.

While the concepts were discussed openly at the commission meeting, the specifics of the offers will need to be ironed out in executive sessions per collective bargaining agreements.

Fortuna explained the next steps of the process. “The police union contract is up for negotiation June 30, 2024. Prior to that, the town may consider engaging an actuary to look at what it might cost to change some benefits for police officers,” Fortuna said.

However, Fortuna also mentioned that there are some variables that need to be considered when it comes to benefits.

“Obviously, all this can be quite expensive, and any changes may have to be implemented over time. In addition, I think the town’s people, as well as all interested boards and commissions, would like to have high confidence that, should changes be made, the problem surrounding attraction and retention of police officers will be remedied and that, in fact, benefits are the core issue causing the turnover problem which the town has been experiencing for many years and that there is not another factor,” Fortuna said.

The staffing problem is not a new one in Old Saybrook or, in fact, elsewhere in the state. A 2021 study on the department’s staffing needs noted that a multitude of factors have been affecting staffing levels at police departments across the country, and Old Saybrook has not been immune.

When discussing the driving factors of the issue at the Police Commission meeting on July 24, Spera pointed to the current labor market, the fact fewer people are going into policing, which has led to a shortage of police officers, societal factors, and personalities clicking at the department.