At the Selectmen’s Monday meeting, Rochester Police Chief Paul Magee clarified what he said were misconceptions regarding the department’s Country Fair contributions.

Earlier this month, Rochester Country Fair Board of Directors Co-Chair Dave Souza announced the parade would be cancelled next year due to high costs. At the time, he praised the Fire Department for donating resources and manpower. Souza said the Police Department, for reasons out of its control, wasn’t as generous.

“I want to make the board aware of some facts,” Magee said.

Since 2010, he said the cost of a police detail increased $372, which is minimal compared to how many people the fair attracts.

“I think that shows a tremendous effort to keep costs in check,” Magee said. “Those increases have been very minor in a five-year period.”

Regarding generosity, Magee said police provided 73 man hours at no cost to the fair. That equates to a $3,100 savings.

As for the cancelled parade, Magee said there’s more to that decision than money.

“It’s more accurate to say the parade is not successful.”

This year, Magee participated in the parade and noted that there were very few spectators, and certainly not enough to warrant closing down the parade route.

He said the department looks forward to working with fair organizers in the future.

“I think that our proactive efforts in parking accidents and having proper staff at the fair has helped to prevent a lot of problems,” Magee said. “I think the mindset has become: ‘If there are no problems at the fair then why do we need police?’ That’s because we’ve done such a good job.”