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MIDDLEFIELD INFO A few observations and a repository of information for a small town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts            _____________________________________________________________________________________________ Misappropriation I provided the following email to the Selectboard and Administrator with a copy to the Finance Committee. The Selectboard acts as the Middlefield Police Commissioners and is responsible for the operation of the Police Department. Howard Knickerbocker From:howardk758@aol.com To:Middlefield.assistant@gmail.com,middlefield.adm@gmail.com,Tamarin Laurel,middlefield.amv@gmail.com Cc:Adair Laurel-Cafarella Thu, Feb 1 at 6:38 PM Feb. 1, 2024                                                                                                                                                                                                                 I believe that the private flagging road work by town police officers outside the Town of Middlefield is not authorized. The following 2004 By-law clearly states that this work is only authorized within the town. I am unaware of any other authorities. “No public or private utility and/or construction company shall work on any public way within the town without notifying the Police Chief or his/her designee. All road details shell be assigned by the Police Chief or his/her designee. [2004, Article 21d]” Middlefield officers spent an average 1157 hours each year at private flagging jobs over the last three years. Most of these jobs were in other jurisdictions. That is 3,472 hours of idling car engines. That does not include the mileage to and from these private employments. That is 3,472 hours plus travel time that the officer and town police car were not in Middlefield to answer emergencies. The 3,472 hours equates to 156,000 miles of driving at 45 MPH. Middlefield assumes all liability for the officer and car - and must provide insurance. The Town provides the fuel and vehicle maintenance. The Town purchases the vehicle and installs expensive communication and safety systems. The car is worn out after three years of this activity and the expensive repairs start. The police identified, at most, a few hundred hours yearly of town related car use in my previous March 2022 report. That means that 80 or 90 percent of the vehicle usage is devoted to supporting this strictly private employment of the officers. The Town accrues no benefit from this activity. It is in fact a huge liability. I propose, lacking any authorization, that it is a gross misappropriation of Town funds for strictly private benefit. Howard Knickerbocker Contact: howard@knic.com