In an effort to find a solution to the staffing problems the police department faces, the Police Commission has decided to schedule a special meeting with First Selectman Carl Fortuna to discuss the issue further.

At a commission meeting in July, Old Saybrook Police Chief Michael Spera gave a presentation on an issue he termed a “crisis” facing the department: the staffing level.

Following a lengthy executive session at that meeting, the 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 Spera and the commission.

Following a meeting on Aug. 28, the commission hopes to schedule a special meeting with Fortuna to move the process along.

Police Commission Chairman Alfred Wilcox said that he believes the meeting will focus “on the timelines for the independent reviews the First Selectman has alluded to and how that timeline supports the exigent circumstances the department faces.”

Wilcox said that he anticipates the meeting would not take place in executive session but noted that could change. A date for the special meeting has not been set at press time.

Spera has said he’s very concerned about the situation facing the department. At the July meeting, he said 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 in July.

In order to make the department seem more attractive, Spera offered several suggestions. One was 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 would need to be ironed out in executive sessions according to collective bargaining agreements.

Following the July meeting, Fortuna noted that before the Town agrees to spend the money on those suggestions, more information would need to be gathered to be sure the suggestions would indeed fix the problem.

Spera reiterated at the Aug. 28 meeting that a staffing problem is not a new one in Old Saybrook or, in fact, elsewhere in the state. Spera presented two newspaper articles decades apart mentioning the department having multiple vacancies.

A 2021 study on the department’s staffing needs noted that many factors have been affecting staffing levels at police departments across the country, and Old Saybrook has not been immune.