By MARK SARDELLA

WAKEFIELD — The annual budget process continued last night as the Finance Committee scrutinized more FY 2016 departmental budgets, including the Police Department, DPW and Group Insurance budgets.

With Police Chief Rick Smith alongside, Town Accountant Kevin Gill presented the numbers for the $4,633,285 Police budget, which he said overall was down $59,888. Much of that was due to a $127,119 decrease in emergency overtime compared to last year. Smith explained that last year, the department had a number of recruits going through the police academy and those holes had to be covered with overtime.

Several other line items were increased, Gill said, including a $61,752 bump in personal services due to contractually negotiated increases. He added that there were several smaller increases and decreases in various materials and supplies.

Gill noted an $8,000 expenditure for wireless microphones for motorcycle units.

Chief Smith talked about maintenance problems at the police portion of the Public Safety Building, which is the older part of the building. He talked about things breaking prematurely, reporting issues with boilers, air conditioning units and electrical problems.

“We really have to take a hard look at that building,” Smith said, noting that the building is used 24 hours a day, every day. “The town has to invest some money in it,” he told the FinCom. “To keep that building up and running is a daunting task.”

FinCom member Joseph Tringale asked Smith how his department was perceived in the community, given the level of “police bashing” that has gone on in the wake of events in Ferguson, Mo.

Smith said that police are respected in Wakefield. He attributed much of that to the fact that officers are invested in the community. Smith said that once four new officers complete their field training, he will appoint a School Resource Officer for the High School as well as a Family Services Officer.

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DPW Director Richard Stinson presented the $4,424,959 Public Works budget for FY 2016, which was up $156,281 (3.66 percent) over the current year. Business and Operations Manager Carol Antonelli, Buildings Supervisor Christopher Pierce and Town Engineer Michael Collins were also on hand.

DPW Subcommittee member William Boodry said that next year’s DPW budget was “unremarkable” in that there were no major ups or downs.

Stinson said that the budget included personal services increases related to contractual obligations as well as three new staff. An over-all $13,905 increase in the “Purchase of Services” line item included increases in equipment maintenance ($5,000), fence repair ($2,000) and surface treatment ($3,500), Stinson said. Electricity and natural gas costs decreased $3,740.

Pierce addressed building maintenance issues, leading to a discussion of maintenance problems encountered when buildings have newer, more sophisticated systems like HVAC, which can vary from building to building.

Stinson presented next year’s Snow and Ice budget, up $100,000 to $750,000. Stinson said that a realistic Snow and Ice budget would be closer to $1,168,000.

Stinson said the $4,317,077 Water Division budget included a minor $20,428 increase in the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) assessment. He said that personal services for the water Department were increased $45,882 with the addition of a second water treatment plant operator. The goal of adding a treatment plant operator, Stinson said, was to maximize water pumped from Crystal Lake and reduce MWRA costs.

The $7,246,937 Sewer Division Budget included a $242,832 increase in the MWRA assessment, Stinson said.

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Town Administrator Stephen P. Maio presented the Group Insurance Budget at $12,355,326, reflecting a $406,983 increase. He said the overall experience since the town moved its health insurance to the state’s Group Insurance Commission (GIC) plans has been positive, noting that the FY 2016 Group Insurance budget is approximately where it was in FY 2010. Even with the savings, Maio noted that the town was still able to earmark $1.8 million for “Other Post-Employment Benefits” (OPEB).

Stinson returned to present a number of articles on the May 4 Annual Town Meeting warrant.

The Refuse/Recycling/Yard Waste article seeks $1,476,680. Stinson said that under the new automated trash collection and single stream recycling programs, that budget has decreased by $135,877 since FY 2014 and is now lower than it was in 2007.

The budget to fund the federally mandated National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) was $100,000.

A sum of $400,000 is requested for water main improvements.

A total of $15,000 is budgeted for shade tree replacement.

The public shade tree spraying program seeks $20,000.

Roadway improvements are budgeted at $200,000 to supplement the Chapter 90 funds the town gets from the state.

New sidewalks are funded at $50,000.

Another Town Meeting Article will seek $1,999,967 in Capital Outlay.