In Swampscott, civil service resurfaces with a price tag
FinCom plans to discuss collective-bargaining agreements on Monday night
Wicked Local
On Nov. 16, Swampscott Town Meeting members passed Article 7, officially kicking off the legislative process to end local police and firefighters’ participation in the Massachusetts Civil Service.
Now, the financial cost associated with that affirmative vote – cumulatively totaling more than $300,000 to Swampscott police and firefighters – is slated to come before the 2021 Swampscott Town Meeting in mid-May.
Some Town Meeting members have expressed anger and disappointment that town officials did not fully disclose the financial implications (in the hundreds of thousands of dollars) when they voted on Article 7 - even if they agreed with the merits of revoking the town’s civil-service participation.
An independent investigation looking into Swampscott police officers’ arrest of a Black Lives Matter activist during an early December Trump rally concluded roughly a week ago – but Swampscott officials have decided against publicly releasing the final report detailing its findings.
Swampscott police rebuke town leaders for public statement
Sternly-worded statement comes after chief opens investigation
William J. Dowd and Leigh Blander
The Swampscott Police union late Friday issued a sternly-worded statement aimed at the town’s leadership.
“It is with utmost disappointment that we, the members of the Swampscott Police Department, are compelled to write in response to the accusations made in an official document from the town of Swampscott, Office of the Select Board, dated on Jan. 6, 2021,” reads the union statement.
The union s statement specifically targets the language in the town s Jan. 6 press release, announcing that Swampscott Police Chief Ronald Madigan opened an independent, internal investigation into the mid-December arrest of a Black Lives Matter protester.