City Council

Minutes were approved on June 23, 2025 by the Laconia City Council. CITY OF LACONIA - CITY COUNCIL BUDGET MEETING City Hall - Armand A. Bolduc City Council Chamber 6:00 P.M. 6/9/2025 - Minutes 1. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Hosmer called the meeting to order at 6:00 PM 2. SALUTE TO THE FLAG Councilor Felch led the salute to the flag. 3. RECORDING SECRETARY Katie Gargano, City Clerk 4. ROLL CALL Clerk Gargano called the roll of the following councilors: Councilor Cheney, Councilor Soucy, Councilor Hoffman, Councilor Haynes, Councilor Bogert and Councilor Felch. Mayor Hosmer noted that all six councilors were in attendance and a quorum was established. 5. STAFF IN ATTENDANCE Kirk Beattie, City Manager; Glenn Smith, Finance Director 6. PRESENTATIONS 6.A. Department Budget Presentation - Codes Joe Gray presented his budget to the City Council. Increases in this budget: training line, postage expenses and Director Gray noted his secretary is working on new software, it should be going live in July. This will streamline and make things faster for sending and preparing permits. His assistant inspector Jeff has been keeping up inspections and following up on complaints. Director Gray noted some of his recent inspections and certificates of occupancy he has issued. He is working on reviewing the permit fee structure and is looking to present some changes to the City Council soon. Councilor Bogert asked what their back log is for permits for inspections. Director Gray said there isn’t a backlog at the moment. 6.B. Department Budget Presentation - Police Department Chief Canfield presented his budget to the City Council  isn’t a backlog at the moment. 6.B. Department Budget Presentation - Police Department Chief Canfield presented his budget to the City Council Mission statement: It is the mission of this department to enhance the quality of life for residents, business people, and visitors to the City of Laconia. Our function is to prevent crime, to protect people and property, and to enforce state statutes and local ordinances. This shall be done with common sense, fairness and respect for constitutional rights of all people. In meeting our mission, we will build positive relationships; encouraging citizen involvement in the identification and solution of problems within the community and adhere to the following core values: integrity, respect, service and teamwork. Elaboration: Community Policing-the department emphasizes a community-oriented policing approach, believing it is more than just a tactic, but a total philosophy. Problem solving- they focus on addressing the root cause of problems rather than just implementing quick fixes. Non-traditional policing- they are open to trying new and innovative methods in working with our community and other agencies. 2024 Dept activity statistics: Calls for service- 20,401 Criminal offenses investigated- 3,735 total number of physical arrests- 1,222 Motor Vehicle Stops- 5,084 Motor Vehicle Collisions- 546 parking tickets issued- 1,569 DWI- 50 Intoxication- Protective Custody- 224 Special Response Area- 695 Park Walk Talk- 1,484 Community Policing Events- 135 Bicycle Registrations- 1 Vehicle Identification Number verifications- 158 House/business checks- 40 Calls for services- other types Alarms- 395 Suicidal Subjects- 86 Disturbances- 979 Domestic Disturbances- 213 Drug Overdoses- 39 Disturbances- 979 Domestic Disturbances- 213 Drug Overdoses- 39 Drug Overdoses- Fatal- 4 Needles for destruction- 41 Welfare checks- 612 Budget request highlights: What drives the increase- Salaries, Shift Differential, Overtime and O/S Contracts, Connectivity and VOIP service for CP and UAV, new software programs; community engagement, single sign-on 2 FA computer security and employee tracking/ management software, LR Computer contracted CJIS consultant. New positions requested; not funded: Administrative Assistant- used to be 1 full-time position but was split into 2 part-time positions, requesting to return to 1 full-time position. Civilian Crime Analyst- Full Time, support the real time crime center, support for cyber investigations within the detective unit, intelligence-led policing; cutting edge in policing, predictive policing; cutting edge in policing. New positions seen on the horizon: New police officers- upon the full buildout of the state school property Full time parking enforcement officer Grant funding history over the past 5 years: 2020-2021 $549,464 2021-2022 $1,574,577 2022-2023 $613,179 2023-2024 $77,200 2024-2025 $334,356 Total $3,177,935 Grants primarily funded equipment needs and various patrol/enforcement activities with no obligations to the city. Current staffing levels: 3 vacancies in patrol; 2 detective positions, 4 grant funded. 49 total positions. New technology- Real time crime center: $200k kick off grant received, provides for increased security and crime fighting in the city, provides game changer for active shooter response, provides for significant command and control of major incidents, more in-depth presentation to follow. New technology- Real time crime center: $200k kick off grant received, provides for increased security and crime fighting in the city, provides game changer for active shooter response, provides for significant command and control of major incidents, more in-depth presentation to follow. Modern patrol- would like to obtain a Polaris side by side for patrolling areas where a cruiser cannot go. Spidr Tech- interactive community engagement, every person that calls the police department gets a text message with updates related to their call. Survey results show very satisfied results. The Laconia Police Department sent 3,290 messages from 1/1/2025-3/31/2025. In service training and specialty training: Total specialty training hours: 1,184 hrs Total in-service training hours: 48 hrs per sworn officer Continual online training requirements Exclusive of the above training hours, it does not include new recruit training, 6-week in-house academy, NH police academy, and field training. Department programs, and Community outreach: Citizen Police Academy CALEA National Accreditation Victim services unit School Resource/ Liaison Officer Program Internet crimes against children task force Community service officers National Night out Community presentations Special Olympics Make-A-Wish Big Brothers/Big Sisters Vacant House Checks College Internship program High School Internship program Drug Abuse Resistance Education Tip 411  High School Internship program Drug Abuse Resistance Education Tip 411 School/Community Tours Cop Card Program Drug collection box DEA National Drug take back program Coffee with a cop Ride along program Huot Criminal Justice class CALEA Accreditation Status update: l Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies l 21 commissioners; full- spectrum of public safety leadership l Premier credentialing association for police agencies l Advanced tier 2 law enforcement accreditation: 483 standards l Approximately 1k agencies out of 17k across the country l 15 police agencies in NH are accredited out of over 200 law enforcement agencies l CALEA is drastically different than the recently created NH State Accreditation Process. Assessment Process: l Extensive ongoing self-assessment l Annual remote compliance service review l Quadrennial site-based assessment review l Quadrennial review to the commission for final review and credentialing 2024 Status Report: Year 4 l Comprehensive full re-accreditation assessment l Full Site-Based review l August 5 th through August 8 th l Appearance before CALEA Commission 1. Possible testimony 2. Acceptance of re-accreditation award 3. November 2024 Councilor Soucy asked for clarification on how long the grant is good for the 4 positions- Chief Canfield confirmed the grant expires in 1 year. Councilor Cheney spoke as the liaison of the police department, having been in his shoes, he is thankful for the great work our police department does for the City of Laconia. Mayor Hosmer thanked the commissioners and the police chief for all there hard work and the presentation this evening. 6.C. Department Budget Presentation - Administration Manager Beattie highlighted a couple sections of his budget to the City Council  Mayor Hosmer thanked the commissioners and the police chief for all there hard work and the presentation this evening. 6.C. Department Budget Presentation - Administration Manager Beattie highlighted a couple sections of his budget to the City Council On page 10 in the budget book. The contingency line is significantly higher than in the past. The intent is to keep the project manager and cut the crime analyst position. On page 12- cuts were made under health first and community wellness center. On page 66- Records- elections increase to complete the poll pad project for the records department. Mayor Hosmer asked to go back to page 12 because he has a question about who Waypoint is. Can he please explain what it is. Manager Beattie stated it is a family resource center; they have a location on Water Street here in Laconia. 7. Any other business that may come before the Council The consensus of the council is there is no additional need for another budget meeting with department heads on 6/16/25. 8. ADJOURNMENT Mayor Hosmer adjourned the meeting at 6:34 PM Respectfully Submitted, Katie Gargano, City Clerk