Two new suits for a police officer; shirts, pants and dress shoes for one department head; three pairs of trail running sneakers for another.

All of it paid for with taxpayer money.

Those are just a few of the purchases employees have been reimbursed for under uniform and clothing allowances worked into Mansfield municipal employee contracts, an investigation by The Sun Chronicle has found.

While the allowances cover uniform and protective gear purchases for some employees, they have become perks for others, including some town workers who spend their days behind a desk in an office.

The Sun Chronicle has reviewed six months of public records relative to Mansfield's uniform and clothing spending from both the municipal government and the town-owned Mansfield Municipal Electric Department, a period that covered July 1 to Dec. 31, 2009. The town has budgeted $129,713 for uniform and clothing allowances for the

2010 fiscal year, which began July 1.

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