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Police PayCould
See Reductions
By Scott MacKeen
Staff Writer
8/6/09
Police officers who receive stipends for higher education status are likely to see their bonuses cut this year.
With the state significantly cutting back support of the so-called Quinn Bill program, a reward for officers who pursue academic degrees, Selectmen don’t expect to have the cash available in a tight budget to fully fund the program this year.
As a result, officers who are paid extra under the Quinn Bill – the vast majority of Milton’s police force, according to Town Administrator Kevin Mearn – would, under that plan, see a reduction in that stipend, which comes in December.
“We’re probably going to be dealing with a Police Department that isn’t going to be happy. But we feel like we really don’t have a choice,” Selectmen Chair John Shields told the Warrant Committee at a joint budget meeting July 29.
Shields said the situation is “unfortunate” but – faced already with a $330,000 budget deficit, snow-and-ice carryover costs from last year and possible local-aid cuts looming – the town just doesn’t have the money.
“It just points out that that, even though we passed this huge [$3.4 million] override, we’re still pretty tight [for fiscal year 2010],” he said.
Lt. John King, president of the Milton Police Superior Officers Association, did not mince words in his response on behalf of the police union.
“Regarding the police union’s response to any rumored cuts to the Quinn Bill Program, as president of the Superior Officers Association, I have not yet received any official notification from the town indicating that the Quinn Bill payments would be reduced,” he wrote in an e-mail. “However, if that were to occur, the union would be forced to take immediate action through a lawsuit and/or grievance, as the union’s legal counsel feels the town is legally obligated to pay the entire amount.
“In addition to any legal aspects, any attempt to reduce the funding would have a significant detrimental impact on the morale and operations of the Police Department, as we would be the only department employees in town facing the possibility of up to a [12.5] percent pay cut, and the only police department in the immediate area to face such a situation, as every department bordering Milton is honoring the entire amount.”
Under the Quinn Bill – otherwise called the Police Career Incentive Pay Program – police officers can earn bonuses if they achieve certain higher education standing: 10 percent for an associate’s degree, 20 percent for a bachelor’s degree and 25 percent for a master’s or law degree. Shields said the program, which was enacted by the state Legislature in 1970, was designed to create more “professionalized” departments across the state.
The state, which is supposed to reimburse 50 percent of what communities spend on Quinn Bill stipends, dropped its funding significantly for the program this year – from $56 million down to $10 million – leaving cities and towns scrambling for solutions.
While some communities are handcuffed by collective bargaining agreements and must pay the full amount even if the state cuts its share, others, Milton included, can elect to dock officers’ pay to make up the difference.
The state cut about three-quarters of what it usually gives Milton for Quinn Bill payments, or approximately $115,000, according to Selectman Marion McEttrick.
Police Chief Richard Wells Jr. said while the Quinn Bill is valuable, it’s still an unbalanced system where some communities are bound by contract to honor the education-based bonuses while others are not.
“There’s a huge discrepancy. Say an officer here [in Milton] makes $70,000. He’s taking a 25 percent hit [to his bonus this year]. A police officer in Randolph will still make $70,000” because that town is obligated to fully fund Quinn Bill, he said.
Meals Tax
Meanwhile, the Selectmen still have yet to decide whether to back the “local option” for a 0.75 percent excise to the meals tax.
As a way of relieving local budget strains, cities and towns have been given the option of levying the new tax as early as Oct. 1.
Shields believes the proposal is being introduced at the wrong time for the town.
“We have two new restaurants opening up. They have made financial risks and invested in our town. It would be unfair,” he said.
While Shields said he holds a “minority” view in opposition to the meals excise, McEttrick and Selectman Kathy Fagan both insisted they are thus far undecided either way.
“I just don’t know. I don’t really have an opinion yet,” McEttrick said. “We haven’t talked enough about it to really know.”
Fagan said she wants to see how the tax will impact other communities.
“I think it’s too soon to tell. I’d want to be cautious that we don’t price/tax people out of using our new and existing restaurants if they feel ‘too taxed,’ even if only by perception,” she said.
The Warrant Committee estimates the meals tax would add around $35,000 in new revenue for the town. The Selectmen could choose to include it as a warrant article for a planned October Special Town Meeting. The articles must be finalized by the end of the month.