The Board of Selectmen approved the switch on Monday night.

LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — The Police Department is contracting with the Berkshire County sheriff's department to maintain its computer systems.

 

The Board of Selectmen on Monday approved financing $22,000 over the next three years to change the computer systems in the Police Department to TriTech Police Case Management software. The system runs all of the police reports, dispatching, and log entries and is tied into each cruiser. 

 

"The opportunity right now is to connect and carry everything with the Sheriff's Department," Police Chief Timothy Sorrell said. 

 

Sorrell said the current system costs $8,500 this year and the price is going up to $9,100 next year. That is just for the software and the town is responsible for maintenance. After three years, when the information is transferred to the new system, the sheriff's department will manage and maintain the system for $2,300 a year, Sorrell said. 

 

Town Administrator Paul Sieloff called the proposal a "win-win" because in the long run the town will save money, just as it saves money with the sheriff's department running dispatch.

 

"It is one of these things where instead of having localized wherewithal it is going to be centralized," Sieloff said. "We are fortunate to have this close-by asset."

 

The software links the department's information to open cases or information about suspects with other departments in the area, Sorrell said. A number of police departments in Western Massachusetts are moving to the TriTech system.

 

"At this point in time, it is the state of the art. This is what everybody is going to," Sorrell said, assuring the Selectmen that the software will still be relevant after the three years of financing. 

 

Sorrell said the department has already paid $8,400 for the current system, which means the software will be valid until the end of June. If the TriTech system is in place before then, the town will get a rebate. Sieloff said the financing for the switch to the sheriff's department will be built into the town's budget for the next few years.

 

The Police Station itself is also in the midst of receiving an upgrade. The Board of Selectmen previously approved capital plans to put on a new roof, install a water heater, and replace the furnace. 

 

So far, the hot water heater is the only one of those projects completed. The Selectmen accepted the low bid of $6,620 on Monday from O'Connell Oil for a new furnace. Earlier in the month, it accepted the bid of $17,500 from D.J Wooliver and Sons to replace the roof. 

 

Wooliver's bid was the only one the town received and was higher than anticipated. Sieloff said the projects overall will be about $3,000 to $4,000 over but there is money to pull from energy efficiency projects throughout town.

 

"We're going to be short a couple dollars because of the way the roof project came in," Sieloff said.

 

The board also took up Sorrell's offer Monday night to have officers craft a list of dilapidated buildings in town. Sieloff said the Health Department is working on cleaning up many of the blighted properties but town officials are hoping to get a more comprehensive list. 

 

"Ultimately, we may need to put an article in to free up some funds to do something," Sieloff said of some of the abandoned homes.

 

Sorrell said when officers have time, they can take photos and list the blighted properties. That will then be coupled with information Sieloff said he would gather from the Health Department. 

 

Finally, on Monday, the Selectmen appointed Brennan Polidoro and Jonathan Bishop to part-time jobs in the Police Department. Both have law enforcement experience, with Polidoro being a full-time officer in Sheffield and Bishop a former Dalton officer. 

 

"Some years you luck out. We lucked out," said Police Advisory Commission Chairman Marvin Michalak, who recommended the two candidates. "All five members that we talked to qualified to step in as part-time officers here. These two were head and shoulders above all the rest. When you look at their resumes, you wonder if they are overqualified for part-time work."

 

The application process is still open for one more position. The candidates who were not picked in the last round are still under consideration for that post.