HOLYOKE — The mayor’s office announced Friday that the city has begun accepting bids from firms or individuals to conduct a “performance audit” of the Police Department.
In an official request for proposals, or RFP, the city has outlined six different areas it wants a “responsible audit/ management services firm or individual” to investigate at the Holyoke Police Department: organizational structure and governance; communication, cross functionality and horizontal integration; operating procedures; strategic and capital planning and budgeting; financial audit and budgetary constraints; and professional standards and accountability.
“The scope of services should be focused on the organizational structure of the Department, the written and ‘past practice’ operational procedures, staffing levels, hiring practices, communications, overall management systems and practices and other matters as indicated in the Request for Proposals in comparison to the Massachusetts Police Accreditation Standards,” the RFP document says.
City officials have been calling for an assessment of the Police Department since March 2021, when Holyoke police officer Rafael Roca posted a video to social media alleging corruption and racism within the department. That prompted then city councilor Rebecca Lisi, together with several colleagues, to file an order calling for an outside assessment of the department. The city eventually fired Roca in November.
Lisi said Monday she was “pretty surprised and impressed” with the scope of services detailed in the request for proposals. She said she was surprised because there were “influential parties” who seemed “resistant to undertaking this self-reflective work,” and because she thought Mayor Joshua Garcia might only pursue a financial review of the department.
“As the work gets done I think there will be more to dig into, but I think that the RFP that’s been presented should be supported and applauded,” Lisi said. “Really, it’s in the city’s best interest to start undertaking this work seriously now.”
Calls for a financial audit of the department grew after the Gazette obtained the 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.
In particular, then city councilor Michael Sullivan, who was a mayoral candidate in the general election, called for an independent audit of the department, its “handling of state and federal grant programs” and “excessive overtime.”
“I think that the RFP spells out exactly what we’re looking for,” Sullivan said in a phone interview last week. He said he hopes the firm that is chosen to conduct the audit is forthcoming with an in-depth and detailed examination. “The quality of the results are going to be linked directly to the level of expertise of the organization that’s hired to do it.”
At a meeting of the City Council’s Public Safety Committee in February, Garcia said that the report, when completed, 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 at the time. “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.”
In the “scope of services” portion of the RFP, the city spells out what it intends the selected consultant to focus on.
Related to the Police Department’s organization structure and governance, the city says that it wants to look at hiring and staffing practices, including “best practice recommendations for staffing structure to ensure policing efficiency in the City.” The audit would also focus on the “internal workings of the management team,” including their communications, and a review of department regulations, orders and operating procedures to ensure they are consistent with the Massachusetts Police Accreditation Commission standards.
The audit will also focus on how Police Department budgets are put together, and how the Police Department manages its grants and its collective bargaining agreements. The report will also tackle the issue of professional standards and accountability, from “examining impediments to true accountability within the police department” to reviewing any complaints that arise out of departmental interviews.
The RFP document says that proposals are due May 25 at 2 p.m. and that the city plans to select a consultant for the work by June 15. The audit would take place sometime during fiscal year 2023, “subject to the availability of funding,” the document says.
Dusty Christensen can be reached at dchristensen@gazettenet.com.