Councilors: Investigate police, fire deparments

DERRY — Two town councilors have requested Town Administrator Gary Stenhouse hire an outside company to investigate two of the largest departments in town.

Town Councilors Kevin Coyle and Janet Fairbanks requested on Tuesday night that Stenhouse investigate the Police and Fire Departments to determine why one-fifth of the town's police officers have quit this year and whether the town needs 85 employees in the Fire Department.

Fairbanks requested the town hire a company from outside New Hampshire to analyze the department to see if there are any wasted resources.

Stenhouse said he has drafted a request for proposal, and it will be sent out this summer.

He said that he's sent out similar requests to investigate the Fire Department in the past and was dissatisfied with the results.

"I intend to send it out and see what I get for proposals," Stenhouse said.

When the council approved this year's budget in May, councilors said it's likely the town will have to lay off some employees during the next fiscal year.

Coyle said on Wednesday that he believes the Fire Department is overstaffed by at least four employees.

The fire department outnumbers the police department 85 to 74, and Stenhouse said that in his experience in municipal work for more than 20 years, police departments usually have more employees.

Coyle, who is a police prosecutor for the Londonderry Police Department, said the Derry Police Patrolman's Web site is very critical of the department's management and said he's concerned that the town has lost that much experience in a single year.

Coyle acknowledged the state's retirement system has changed to limit benefits, but he said that's not a logical explanation, since both departments are in the same retirement system, and the town has not lost a single firefighter this year.

"These people are flying out the door, and there's a reason for that," Coyle said on Wednesday afternoon.

Coyle acknowledges the council has done little to investigate the problems in that department but said it's time to hire an outside company to look into the department's morale.

"We have a responsibility to make sure one of the largest departments is properly run," Coyle said.