Holyoke Finance Committee Clears $600,000 in Police Transfers, Approves VOIP Deal

HOLYOKE -- May 13, 2026, Holyoke Finance Committee approved more than $600,000 in Police Department budget transfers and recommended a five-year VOIP phone contract with Spectrum at its May 13 meeting. Police Chief David Pratt walked the committee through ten transfer orders drawing primarily from vacant patrol officer salary lines, covering ammunition ($40,000), vehicle repair and supplies ($80,000), energy and equipment ($210,000), overtime ($150,000), and smaller items for clothing, training travel, and data services, with Pratt arguing that costs for ammunition, parts, and technology are rising and that vacancy surpluses now may not exist in next fiscal year's budget. Councilor Rebecca Sullivan pressed on whether $580,000 in personnel-line transfers was appropriate with only six weeks left in the fiscal year, asking whether funds might revert to the general fund, while Pratt replied, "A bird in the hand is better than one in the wind." The committee also unanimously approved a five-year VOIP contract with Spectrum that Chief Procurement Officer Jamie Morrow's written memo said would save the city approximately $9,000 annually, compared with $1,200 under a three-year term, and include all new equipment, following a multi-day phone outage earlier this year. The committee advanced an order to adopt MGL Chapter 60, Section 3D, creating a voluntary checkoff on motor vehicle excise bills to fund real estate tax relief for elderly and disabled low-income residents, effective January 1, 2027, and tabled an order on demolition of the old police station pending a designer's cost estimate.