HOLYOKE — Mayor Joshua Garcia is moving forward with a proposal to conduct an assessment of the Holyoke Police Department’s policies, practices and finances.
Garcia revealed Wednesday during a meeting of the City Council’s Public Safety Committee that he has begun crafting a request for proposals to solicit bids from consultants to conduct a “robust audit analysis” of the department. When completed, that report would help the city understand what the Police Department is doing well and where improvements can be made, Garcia told councilors.
“For all we know, the report could come back and say that we’re 100% perfect, or they could come back and we might get some surprises,” Garcia said. “I think it’s a very healthy process. It’s not at all to say that there are issues or that there is anything illegal going on in the Police Department.”
The idea of an independent assessment of the Police Department was first floated in March 2021, a week after a Holyoke police officer, Rafael Roca, posted a video to social media alleging corruption and racism within the department. He was later fired for posting and declining to take down the video. At the time, Holyoke Police Chief David Pratt stated he knew that “both the FBI and Attorney General looked into Mr. Roca’s allegations and found zero evidence to open an investigation.”
In the wake of those allegations, several councilors filed an order calling for an independent assessment of the department’s structure, policies and practices “in an effort to obtain neutral, fact-based data and statistics.”
City officials again called for an audit of the police department in October, after the Gazette obtained the Holyoke Police Department’s internal spreadsheets tracking overtime hours. The Gazette’s analysis found that 15 Holyoke police officers filed between 507 and 1,234 overtime hours in fiscal year 2020. The group included four of the department’s five highest-paid officers that fiscal year, who earned hourly overtime rates ranging from $94 to $109 an hour.
Following that report, then city councilor and mayoral candidate Michael Sullivan called for an independent audit of the department’s “handling of state and federal grant programs” and “excessive overtime.” At the time, Garcia said he supported an audit of the department, but that “excessive overtime” in city departments was a symptom of the larger problem of disjointed administrative structures, and that the Police Department shouldn’t be singled out.
At Wednesday’s meeting, Garcia said the assessment should be viewed in the same light as similar efforts the city is making with trash and parking management, for example. He said the assessment is “not meant to divide” but would take a “collaborative” approach. He noted that his Police Relations Advisory Committee has been involved in crafting the request for proposals, and members are weighing in now on anything they want to see added.
“I think with the audit that’s being presented … I think that’s a good step in the right direction,” advisory committee member John Rivera said. “I hope we can continue this.”
Reached by phone Thursday, Garcia confirmed that the assessment would “ideally” include a forensic financial audit of the department.
“I do want to include a financial review and how grants are being managed and how overtime is being done,” Garcia said. The review would also include an assessment of other aspects of the department’s operations, policies and practices.
That was welcome news to Sullivan, who said Thursday that he is pleased to see Garcia and the new council members following through with the audit.
“There’s a need for an audit,” he said. “What’s needed is a financial audit by a trained professional accounting firm.”
Garcia said that once he puts together a final request for proposals, he can begin to understand what a project of that scope will cost. Then, he said he would bring a financing plan to the City Council for approval. The audit would likely take place in the coming fiscal year, he added.
Pratt, the city’s police chief, also was present at Wednesday’s meeting, and said that he has worked to be transparent from the beginning of his tenure as chief last year. As for an assessment, he said that “in the big picture, we’re certainly open to anything.” The consultant should be vetted to make sure the city gets its desired result, after which the City Council can decide if it makes financial sense to proceed, he said.
At-large Councilor Joe McGiverin questioned why an assessment is needed, what it will cost, where the money will come from and who is going to determine the scope of the assessment. At-large Councilor Israel Rivera said the city should be making sure it gets what it pays for when it comes to the Police Department — namely, public safety.
“I think they do a pretty good job of arresting people who commit crimes,” McGiverin responded.
Ward 6 Councilor Juan Anderson-Burgos said that the city continues to invest more and more into the Police Department but crime isn’t going down.
“We need to do something, because it’s not working,” Anderson-Burgos said. “The assessment has to happen. We have to figure out: how can this cost us less.”
Dusty Christensen can be reached at dchristensen@gazettenet.com.