Police budget rises nearly 9% as crossing‑guard positions move to police budget and training mandates increase costs
November 15, 2025 | Milford Board of Selectmen, Milford, Hillsborough County, New Hampshire
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The Milford Police Department presented a proposed 2026 budget of $3,399,545 — an increase of about 8.8% over 2025 — citing wage increases, an extra payroll week and line‑item changes that shift reimbursed services onto police accounts.
The department’s presentation noted that full‑time nonunion and union wage lines reflect a 3% COLA for the additional pay period next year. "Wages full time nonunion… an increase of $76,005.86" the department reported. The Aspen (police) union wage line increased by $133,610 reflecting contract assumptions and staffing at full complement.
A major bookkeeper‑level change: both school crossing‑guard positions were moved onto the police department’s support budget for accounting purposes, though the school district has agreed to reimburse 100% of those salaries. The shift raises the support bureau budget in the police department but, officials said, will be offset in the revenue pages where school reimbursements will be recorded. Captain Peltier and the chief said the change clarifies supervision and training responsibility while keeping the school paying the cost.
The department also asked to centralize software line items (currently scattered across multiple budgets) into a single annual software budget of about $20,600 to reflect recurring licensing and subscription fees for records, scheduling and other cloud services; the move reflects a broader town IT consolidation effort.
Board members pressed for clearer presentation of reimbursements so the effect on the town’s net tax impact and the police fund’s net cost could be seen. The finance director indicated the revenues will be visible on administrative pages and that staff will reclassify revenues and expenses for future budgets to make the net impact clearer.
Outcome: no vote was taken; staff agreed to resubmit the presentation with revenues and reimbursements aligned by bureau so the Selectmen and BAC can more easily measure net impacts.
The department’s presentation noted that full‑time nonunion and union wage lines reflect a 3% COLA for the additional pay period next year. "Wages full time nonunion… an increase of $76,005.86" the department reported. The Aspen (police) union wage line increased by $133,610 reflecting contract assumptions and staffing at full complement.
A major bookkeeper‑level change: both school crossing‑guard positions were moved onto the police department’s support budget for accounting purposes, though the school district has agreed to reimburse 100% of those salaries. The shift raises the support bureau budget in the police department but, officials said, will be offset in the revenue pages where school reimbursements will be recorded. Captain Peltier and the chief said the change clarifies supervision and training responsibility while keeping the school paying the cost.
The department also asked to centralize software line items (currently scattered across multiple budgets) into a single annual software budget of about $20,600 to reflect recurring licensing and subscription fees for records, scheduling and other cloud services; the move reflects a broader town IT consolidation effort.
Board members pressed for clearer presentation of reimbursements so the effect on the town’s net tax impact and the police fund’s net cost could be seen. The finance director indicated the revenues will be visible on administrative pages and that staff will reclassify revenues and expenses for future budgets to make the net impact clearer.
Outcome: no vote was taken; staff agreed to resubmit the presentation with revenues and reimbursements aligned by bureau so the Selectmen and BAC can more easily measure net impacts.
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