Douglas police budget holds staffing steady, drops cruiser purchase for FY27

DOUGLAS — January 27, 2026 — Douglas Finance Committee reviews $2.55 million police budget request with no new hires or cruisers. Chief Nick Blinchinikio and Lieutenant Travis Gould presented the fiscal year 2027 spending plan to the committee Tuesday, seeking $2,351,783 in salaries and $201,195 in expenses — a roughly 6 percent salary increase driven by a 2 percent contractual COLA, probationary step advances, and a 2.25 percent accreditation supplement set to take effect July 1 pending re-accreditation. Town Administrator Matt Wojcik told the committee the overall draft budget carries a roughly $87,000 shortfall he has identified how to close through personnel turnover savings, with municipal departments held to about 1.5 percent growth and education spending — including a 4.5 percent BVT increase and a 12 percent health insurance projection — accounting for most of the pressure. Wojcik also flagged that the department's dispatch software, supplied by a firm called IMC under parent company Town Square, is nearing end-of-life, and that the town is shopping alternative vendors to avoid an "extraordinary" migration cost from the current provider.