Millis police seeks two officers, a lieutenant and $290,000 for FY27 staffing and vehicle needs

The Millis Finance Committee heard from the police chief on March 4, 2026, who asked the panel to consider a supplemental request that would add two patrol officers and elevate an existing sergeant to lieutenant, a package the chief said would cost about $290,000.

The request, presented as an above-service supplemental to the FY27 budget, would add two full-time officers (the chief said he typically asks for three but is requesting two this year) and fund a $30,000 salary adjustment to create a lieutenant position. "I'm asking for 2," the police chief said of officers, noting the town's roster of 18 officers compares with a cited median of 22 among the department's listed comparables. The chief linked the staffing shortfall to sustained growth in calls for service and new housing projects in Millis.

Committee members pressed the chief on metrics and overtime. One member said the chief had “buried your lead” about operational risk: "you're accepting risk when you don't have the members that you need in your lowest shifts," the committee member told the chief. The chief said overnight shifts that run with two officers create officer-safety and service gaps and argued three officers per shift would be a safer standard.

The chief described several recurring grants and revenue sources that offset department costs, including a recurring $3,000 audit grant for the evidence room, ongoing bulletproof-vest funding and a $20,000 traffic-enforcement grant to support pedestrian/bike safety and distracted-driving enforcement. He also highlighted a rise in revenue from private-detail admin fees and licensing activity, and said technology grants fund much of the fleet's mobile data terminals and in-car equipment.

On overtime, the chief told the committee adding staff will not automatically reduce the overtime line because growth in total call volume and routine absences (injuries, training, court) generate overtime expenses even in fully staffed departments. He estimated that the town's overtime number is tied to recurring patterns of officers being out for various reasons and that adding officers will not produce a direct one-to-one offset in overtime savings.

The chief also requested replacement of an aging administrative vehicle and purchase of a new cruiser (a black Tahoe without a full police package for the lieutenant), explaining outfitting would be sought through grants where possible. He emphasized the department's five-sergeant organizational chart and described specialty assignments (K-9, SRO, firearms instructors, detectives, drone pilots) and a capital replacement plan that staggers cruiser replacement every few years.

Next steps: the committee took the presentation and questioned assumptions, comparables and line-item calculations, and asked for the chief's PowerPoint to be posted for review. The supplemental $290,000 request was described as an above-service item that would be evaluated separately from the base FY27 numbers.