Governor Deval Patrick has toughened his new rules on police details at road construction sites, outmaneuvering local police unions that were making a last-minute push to get around efforts to rein in the costly assignments.

The governor eliminated a provision that would have allowed local police details to continue at all state-supervised work sites - even on lightly traveled roads where the danger is low - if a local labor contract or municipal ordinance required it.

The governor tightened the rules following a Globe story last week that said local unions were scrambling to exploit the provision and protect the lucrative details for their officers before the rules take effect Oct. 3.

Police officials were furious yesterday when told of the change, saying the new rules will dramatically reduce their ability to make public-safety decisions in their own communities.

"In my 25 years in law enforcement in this state, I have never worked with a more insensitive and arrogant administration that is simply unwilling to listen on this issue," said Arlington Police Chief Frederick Ryan, who is also a spokesman for the Massachusetts Major City Chiefs, which represents police chiefs in the state's largest communities.

"In a labor-friendly state like Massachusetts, it's outrageous that the administration would try to implement a policy that trumps labor's well-established . . .bargaining rights," he said.

An administration source briefed on the plan said the intent of the change was to treat all communities the same, regardless of what type of union contract they have negotiated with their police union.

"The administration decided to remove the provision and treat all communities equally," the source said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because the final plan has not yet been announced. "The elimination of this provision means that in any city and town, projects where the state is the awarding authority would fall under the regulations."

The new regulations, which are final and were obtained by the Globe last week, were filed late Friday with the secretary of state.

The last-minute revision could have a major impact in Boston, where contract language and city ordinances guarantee the use of police details at construction sites.

"You're kidding me," Thomas Nee, president of the Boston Police Patrolmen's Association, said yesterday when told of the regulations. "This is a complete surprise to us."

Mayor Thomas M. Menino declined to comment until reviewing the changes and exploring whether it would be legal for the state to trump local collective bargaining contracts.

"The mayor has not heard anything about these proposed regulations, and would be interested to learn how they'd impact the city," said Menino's spokeswoman, Dot Joyce.

Already, the Massachusetts Highway Department is preparing to place civilian flaggers on state projects early next month.

It will mark the first time police details are replaced, at a lower cost, with civilians to monitor construction projects in Massachusetts, the only state that automatically assigns police officers to nearly all utility and road work sites.

"Congratulations to the governor," said David Tuerck, executive director of the Beacon Hill Institute at Suffolk University and a longtime critic of police details. "The unions will dig in further and do whatever they can on the local level. But they've lost this battle."

The new regulations will place civilian flaggers on nearly all state roads where the speed limit is below 45 miles per hour, as well as on low-traffic roads where the speed limit is higher. Civilians would also be used at sites where barriers are used to block off construction sites on a high-speed, high-traffic road.

Some roads - generally those with speed limits of 45 miles per hour and above, and with more than 4,000 vehicles per day - would still rely on police officers to monitor traffic.

The state currently spends about $20 million to $25 million annually on police details. The new policy will mean annual savings to the state of between $5.7 million and $7.2 million, according to administration estimates.

Municipalities could still allow police details on projects that the state is not overseeing, such as locally funded road sites, utility projects, or private construction projects.

Administration officials have said they hope their new policy will set an example for municipalities, but there's nothing in the state regulations to compel local officials to challenge police unions and make changes on town or city roads.

Completion of the regulations marks a political victory for Patrick, who has overcome an issue that plagued his predecessors. However, the move has generated heated criticism from unions that are among the governor's biggest supporters.

At a public hearing last week on the regulations, Robert Haynes, president of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO, lashed out at the plan, saying it "reeks of political motivation."
From The Boston Globe, September 22