PUTNEY — The Putney Selectboard, Town Manager Cynthia Stoddard, and members of the Public Safety Committee hosted a public information meeting on Aug. 18 to provide background and research on the town's law enforcement and to find out what townspeople want for community policing.
The meeting was in response to recent changes to the policing contract with the Windham County Sheriff's Department.
The event, held at the fire station, had just under 70 attendees, including town officials, residents, and some who live elsewhere but work in Putney.
Town officials are exploring staying with the Sheriff's Department, switching to the Vermont State Police, or creating a town police force.
Earlier this year, the Sheriff's Department, which for the last seven years has provided Putney with law enforcement for 40 hours per week, informed town officials that the contract would have to change.
Citing labor shortages and increased costs, Sheriff Keith Clark offered Putney a reduced contract at a higher price.
Because the new contract came within a few months of last fiscal year's contract expiring, the Selectboard voted to accept it. Both parties agreed that a six-month agreement would provide time to figure out what's next.
Weighing the options
Currently, Putney receives 20 hours per week from the Sheriff's Department and pays $52,000 for the entire six months of service; this averages out to about $49 per hour. This contract ends on Jan. 1, 2017.
The town can contract with the state police for law enforcement at a rate of $68.35 per hour.
“An apples-to-apples comparison is hard to make,” said Selectboard Chair Josh Laughlin. The hourly service rate doesn't tell the whole story, he said, because of the way each entity bills for time and is funded.
The Sheriff's Department receives no state funding to perform investigative duties and appear in court to adjudicate the cases, while the state police does receive such funding. Thus, when sheriff's deputies spend any time outside of the contract town's borders to work on a case, that comes out of the town's contract hours. Depending on the case, the arrangement can severely diminish patrol time.
But, Laughlin noted, regardless of whether Putney contracts with the Sheriff's Department or forms its own police department, state statute demands the state police respond to 911 calls and other emergency situations. “They triage” the calls, he said, and if demand is high when the calls come in, troopers can't always respond promptly enough to make everyone happy.
Stoddard noted Putney is required to have a constable, but doesn't. Since Henry Farnum resigned in March of 2015, nobody has shown serious interest in the job, she said.
Appointing a constable wouldn't completely answer Putney's law enforcement question, though, Stoddard said, because the powers of the position are limited.
Municipal police proposal
Stoddard presented a brief introduction to the municipal police proposal that Putney resident and Brattleboro Police Detective Lt. Jeremy Evans submitted to the public safety committee a few months ago. The detailed report covers a variety of aspects of establishing and maintaining a department, including a code of ethics, how to handle a crime scene, budget projections, and a timeline for implementation.
Since receiving it, Stoddard said she has “elaborated on it,” adding figures for insurance, vehicle fuel, and dispatch. The proposal covers one 40-hour-per-week officer, and doesn't include the labor costs for a dispatcher.
Public Safety Committee member Lawrence O'Neill reminded attendees “40 hours [per week] is not full-time coverage,” as administrative work will cut into patrol time.
Should townspeople decide to form a municipal police force, “the first year will be big” because of capital costs, Stoddard said, giving $150,000 as the initial estimate. Although she is still collecting data on some of the figures, including those associated with dispatch, yearly operating costs minus dispatch will be about $100,000, Stoddard said.
“Should we pursue this or direct our attention elsewhere?” Stoddard asked attendees.
She encouraged the public to speak up “so we can really gauge what level of policing you want” and “how much we're willing to pay for it."
Of the three law enforcement choices presented, Stoddard said none of the Selectboard and Public Safety Committee members are “leaning toward any one option because [they] don't know what anybody is experiencing” in their law enforcement needs.
“Which area do you really want us to work on?” Stoddard asked attendees.
At the meeting, members of the public and town officials discussed the recent break-ins around town, including those at the Putney Central School, as well as Putney's crime statistics, the importance of community policing, and associated topics.
No decisions were made at the August 18 meeting. At the end of the meeting, town officials agreed to hold the next hearing in September, but chose no date. Stoddard offered to email interested parties related information as it becomes available. She can be reached at tm@putneyvt.org or at the town offices at 802-387-5862.