Police Officers Living in Public Housing (Fitchburg, Ma City Clerk)

As the designated Records Access Officer for the Fitchburg Police Department I have been tasked with satisfying your recent records request regarding police personnel residency restrictions and residing in public housing. This request was received by me on Wednesday March 31, 2021 I will address each point of your request below with my responses in red:

1. Rules, policies, or other practice documents concerning residency restrictions for police officers, command staff, and other police staff. If residency restrictions allow for a waiver, then records for each year from 2016 through 2021 that reflect, (a) the number of residency rule waivers applied, (b) the stated reason for the residency waiver, and(c) the outcome of the residency waiver.

One year prior to day of employment police officers must follow residency requirements outlined Mass General Law Chapter 31 Section 58 which states the following:

Massachusetts General Law Chapter 31 Section 58: Municipal police officers and firefighters; qualification

Section 58. No person shall be ineligible for appointment and no person shall be denied employment as a firefighter or as a police officer in a city or town because of failure to attain a minimum height unless the administrator, in response to the written request of the appointing authority that no person under a specified height be certified for appointment to such position in said city or town, has established a minimum height requirement for the position. Such request shall include the findings of a validation study demonstrating the necessity for a minimum height for said position in said city or town, and such other evidence as the administrator may require.

No person shall be certified for original appointment to the position of firefighter or police officer in a city or town which has not accepted sections 61A and 61B if that person has reached 32 years of age on or before the final date for the filing of applications, as stated in the examination notice, for the examination used to establish the eligible list from which the certification is to be made. No person shall be eligible to take an examination for original appointment to the position of firefighter or police officer in a city or town if the applicant will not have reached 19 years of age on or before the final date for the filing of applications for the examination, as so stated; provided, however, that an applicant who reached 19 years of age while serving on active military duty, who was not 19 on or before the date of an original examination, shall be eligible for any subsequent make up examination that is offered. No person shall be eligible for original appointment to the position of police officer in a city or town until that person has reached the age of 21.

No applicant for examination for original appointment to the police force or fire force of a city or town shall be required by rule or otherwise to be a resident of such city or town at the time of filing application for such examination; provided, however, that notwithstanding the provisions of any general or special law to the contrary, any person who receives an appointment to the police force or fire force of a city or town shall within nine months after his appointment establish his residence within such city or town or at any other place in the commonwealth that is within ten miles of the perimeter of such city or town; provided, however, that a city or town may increase the 10 mile residency limit under a collective bargaining agreement negotiated under chapter 150E. If any person who has resided in a city or town for one year immediately prior to the date of examination for original appointment to the police force or fire force of said city or town has the same standing on the eligible list established as the result of such examination as another person who has not so resided in said city or town, the administrator, when certifying names to the appointing authority for the police force or the fire force of said city or town, shall place the name of the person who has so resided ahead of the name of the person who has not so resided; provided, that upon written request of the appointing authority to the administrator, the administrator shall, when certifying names from said eligible list for original appointment to the police force or fire force of a city or town, place the names of all persons who have resided in said city or town for one year immediately prior to the date of examination ahead of the name of any person who has not so resided.

As a prerequisite to appointment to the position of regular police officer in a city, or in a town where the civil service law and rules are applicable to such position, a person shall have graduated from high school, or received a high school graduation equivalency certificate from the department of education, or served for three years or more in the armed forces of the United States, having last left such armed forces under honorable conditions.

Upon the written request of an appointing authority that educational requirements be established as prerequisites for appointment to its fire force, the administrator may establish such requirements.

After an officer has been appointed, all sworn members regardless of rank must follow Massachusetts General Law Chapter 41 Section 99A which states the following: Members of regular police or fire department and fire alarm division; residence outside city or town

Section 99A. Any member of the regular police or fire department and fire alarm division of a city or town appointed subsequent to August first, nineteen hundred and seventy-eight shall reside within fifteen miles of the limits of said city or town. Said distance shall be measured from the closest border limits of said city or town in which said member is employed to the closest border limits of the city or town in which said member lives; provided however, if any said city or town by local ordinance or by-law to which the provisions of paragraph (d) of section seven of chapter one hundred and fifty E of the General Laws shall apply, or by collective bargaining agreement shall require the members of a regular police or fire department appointed on or after August first, nineteen hundred and seventy-eight to be residents of such city or town, the provision of such local ordinance, by-law or collective bargaining agreement shall supersede the provision of this section and provided further such local ordinance, by-law or collective bargaining agreement shall apply only to those members of a regular police or fire department appointed subsequent to the adoption of such local ordinance, by-law or collective bargaining agreement.

There are no department rules, policy or practice documents for non-sworn police personnel from residing in public housing.

2. Rules, policies, or other practice documents from your municipality that lay out whether police department staff (including officers) can receive housing subsidies and/or live in public housing, even if they do not qualify under the income guidelines.

All police department staff must follow Code of Conduct, G.L. c. 268A, § 23- Conflict of Interest Law which prohibits gratuities and gifts.

3. Records that indicate for each year from 2016 through 2021 how many police department staff (including officers and staff of all ranks) live in public housing, and the name of the housing development where the officer lives. This can either be a snapshot on January 1st of each year 2016 through 2021, or a summary of the entire period.

The following years outline the number of staff that live in public housing:

2016- We have no records of this data nor do we keep such records on public housing

2017- We have no records of this data nor do we keep such records on public housing

2018- We have no records of this data nor do we keep such records on public housing

2019- We have no records of this data nor do we keep such records on public housing

2020- We have no records of this data nor do we keep such records on public housing

2021- We have no records of this data nor do we keep such records on public housing

4. Records that indicate housing allowances or other subsidized housing (not already covered in question 3 above) provided to police department staff (including officers and command staff) in your or another municipality.

As outlined above, we have no records of this data nor do we keep such records on public housing. Fitchburg Housing Authority which oversees all subsidized housing in the City of Fitchburg has confirmed that none of our staff has received housing allowances or subsidized housing during the years requested above.

Please be advised that pursuant to 950 CMR 32.00 and G.L. Chapter 66, Section 10A(a) you have the right to appeal this decision to the Supervisor of Records, at the address listed below, within 90 days from your original request. The appeal must include your original request along with this response. Pursuant to G.L. Chapter 66, Section 10A(c) you also have the right to seek judicial review by commencing a civil action in the Superior Court.

Supervisor of Records
Office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth
McCormack Building, Room 1719
One Ashburton Place
Boston, MA 02108

I kindly request that you send me a return email acknowledging this response to your public records request.

Respectfully,

Captain Matthew LeMay

Captain Matthew LeMay
Technical Services Commander
Fitchburg Police Department
978-345-9646 EXT. 1221
mlemay@police.fitchburgma.gov