Fairfield Union To Board of Finance Member: Apologize Or Resign

FAIRFIELD, CT — Fairfield’s police and fire unions said they are insulted after a member of the Board of Finance questioned overtime costs for first responders during the new coronavirus outbreak and asserted there is “no crime” in town. One union has asked board member James Walsh to apologize or resign.

"We find it difficult to understand how an individual who speaks so negatively about the Town’s employees, holds such an important position within our Town’s government," the Fairfield police union said in an open letter Friday.

Walsh, a Republican, made the incendiary comment at a meeting Wednesday during a discussion of expenses incurred due to the virus. Among the roughly $210,000 in virus-related expenses accrued by the town as of April 15 was nearly $60,000 in police and fire overtime, according to a town document.

Walsh asked Interim Chief Finance Officer Caitlin Bosse for specifics on the cause of the fire department's overtime before turning his attention to overtime at the police department.

“The police overtime seems to be out of control when there’s no crime going on in town,” he said in the final minutes of the second of two board meetings Wednesday evening.

The meeting took place via teleconference, and was recorded and posted online by FairTV. Based on the length of the board’s meetings Wednesday, it appears Walsh made his remarks just before midnight.

Walsh feared police overtime could reach $100,000 or more by May 15, he said, adding he wanted an explanation for the overtime.

“You drive through this town at night, you can’t find a cop,” he said. “It’s a ghost town.”

Following Walsh’s remark, laughter can be heard on the teleconference recording.

In a news release posted Friday on Facebook, the International Association of Fire Fighters Local 1426 suggested Walsh’s comments were political and asked him to apologize or resign.

“During the 4/29 meeting, he insulted the men and women who provide public safety to the Town,” the news release said. “… As he kept speaking, he proved he lacked even a basic understanding of what has gone into the countless hours of work by our Fire and Police Departments.”

Walsh did not respond Friday afternoon to emails seeking comment on the news release.

The police union, Connecticut Organization for Public Safety Local 550, called Walsh, “uninformed and thoughtless,” before reporting its members made more than 500 criminal arrests in 2019 and that so far in 2020, each month’s arrests have exceeded those of the previous year. In the past two months, the department has investigated untimely deaths, sexual exploitation of a minor and heroin distribution, according to the union.

“It is apparent that Mr. Walsh has no perception of the reality in which he lives, the reality that is Fairfield,” the union's letter said. “… crime occurs, and the fact that a town representative is so naive to this fact is not just stunning, it’s concerning.”