Public Safety Override passes

The Public Safety Override for the Town of Norwood passed with 1,687 votes in favor and 1,154 against (with one blank ballot submitted).

That’s a total of 2,841 votes cast in the override ballot election, a voter turnout percentage of just under 12 percent of Norwood’s 23,792 registered voters.

The vote was over $1.8 million in spending for the Norwood Fire Department (NFD) and Norwood Police Department (NPD). The push for the override started in the fall of last year when John Parrow Consulting was contracted for a comprehensive study of the NFD, and increasing staffing was one recommendation of many for the department – https://gvimes.link/nfdstdy

The department held several meetings – as did the NPD https://gvimes.link/npdstaff – outlining the need. There were two main arguments for increasing staffing, the first being that if a crew heads out to a fire understaffed, then everything moves slower and sequentially, rather than fast and all at once. Rescue operations have a specific procedure, and if there’s not enough crew to do them all at once, they have to be done in an order, and response suffers.

The other argument was training. Firefighters train now during their shifts, but if a call comes in, they have to go, and they can’t usually pick up where they left off. The override now allows for 13 more firefighters and five more police officers (with funding for additional police over five years).

The police were looking for another five officers to help cover the overnight shift and regional task forces, as well as cover for any injuries/long illnesses for which other officers have to cover shifts with overtime (NPD Chief Padden said recently at a Board of Selectmen meeting they were lucky this year and are able to return $100,000 in unused overtime funding to the Town).

The Norwood Firefighters Local 1631 released this statement on the passing of the override earlier on Tuesday:

“Yesterday, Norwood voters made an important decision about the future of public safety in our community,” the statement read. “To everyone who supported this effort, thank you for the trust you have placed in the recommendations of our public safety leaders and in those who serve this town every day. That trust is something we will never take for granted. We also recognize that many residents had genuine concerns and questions throughout this process. While people may have reached different conclusions, we all share the same goal: a Norwood that is safe, supported, and prepared to meet the needs of everyone who calls this community home. As firefighters, our commitment remains unchanged. We will continue to serve this community with professionalism, compassion, and dedication today, tomorrow, and for years to come. Thank you, Norwood. It is an honor to serve you.”

As the results came in at Town Hall, residents and officials waited with interest and anticipation as the district bags were brought in – with their Norwood Police Department escort, of course. Some districts had more votes than others, with District 5 coming in last with a total of 164 total ballots cast.

All involved lamented the low turnout, even if it was higher than April’s total turnout and turnout percentage, which was 2,495 and just under 11 percent, respectively.

Selectmen, Norwood Fire Department Chief Timothy Bailey, Town officials, and concerned residents on both sides of the issue waited at Town Hall while the votes were brought in and counted.

“The article passes now, and the Town Meeting voted that if the article passes then the Fiscal Year 2027 Public Safety Budget would be increased by $1.8 million, which they will do,” said Selectman Bob Donnelly.

Donnelly said the departments will be able to start hiring as soon as July 1 hits the calendar.

Donnelly and Selectman Amanda Grow said the turnout wasn’t great, but more than they were expecting.

“It’s not a typical time of the year for people to be thinking they need to be out in Town, that’s spring and fall right?” said Grow. “It’s nice weather, but nice weather is also tempting for people to be out, afar, doing things.”

Despite the low numbers – especially when compared to the 2019 override that passed 5,622 to 1,821 – Grow said the turnout was close to other recent turnout numbers. Though, she said, it could always be better.

“I’m pleased with the turnout; I always want that to be higher no matter what,” she said. “I always feel better about an election where more of the electorate is there telling you their opinion, whether they were for it or against it, what matters is that they at least came out to tell you their opinion. To me, higher is better, but today is about what I expected.”

Donnelly said the passing percentage – 59 percent in favor – was helpful too.

“It was a strong indication that the Town supported the override,” he said. “To me it was almost representative of the same kind of margin we saw at Town Meeting on the article itself. Sometimes those votes at Town Meeting, we hope at least, they reflect the feelings of the general population, and this did.”

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“It wasn’t narrow,” said Grow. “I want to see a result that’s not right on the line, we need an affirmative or not affirmative.”

Selectman Cheryl Doyle said she felt the turnout was “pretty poor.”

“To have that low of a turnout for that amount of money is really, really disappointing,” she said. “Because people will start complaining and complaining and complaining. But if you’re not showing up and not voting, don’t complain.”

Doyle said however that she was happy to see more firefighters and police in the Town.

“We need more firefighters and police, but I just wish we started hiring in the past so we didn’t need to get to this point. And it’s sad that it had to get to this point to get the proper staffing for them,” she said.

Town Meeting Member and Republican Town Committee Chair Kevin Broderick pointed out the turnout was higher than the April election.

“I’m glad folks came out for public safety,” he said. “I encourage people going forward to perhaps pay more attention to local elections, because they have a huge impact on people’s day-to-day life. Twelve percent is unfortunate, given what was on the line.”

Town Meeting Member Kevin Connolly had only a few words.

“The Town is doing well, and I think it shows the commitment of the Town for its public safety,” he said. “And you can quote on that only!”