Thetford
Thetford’s Selectboard earmarked the funds to add a third officer at the behest of Police Chief Michael Evans, who defended the move as a way to deepen his department’s relationship with the town’s residents.
“We should be relying on the troopers we pick, rather than the ones the Vermont State Police chooses to provide,” Evans said, addressing a crowd of roughly 200 voters arrayed in folding chairs and on bleachers in the Thetford Academy gym.
In endorsing the proposed hire, William Bugg, head of school at Thetford Academy, said Evans and officer Stuart Rogers had established a positive presence on campus.
“The police are picking up a lot of slack in the community,” he said. “It’s sometimes preventive; it’s sometimes responsive.”
Several attendees, however, questioned the necessity and timing of the hire.
Alexis Jetter, of Thetford Center, noted the town’s crime rate was relatively stable, and that it had so far been spared the brunt of Vermont’s opioid epidemic. “There’s no immediate need to increase our police force or cruisers,” she said.
Expounding on a February listserv message, Selectboard member Jessica Eaton suggested the town delay the hire until its fiscal health improves.
An amendment she introduced to cut the general fund appropriation by $50,000 received substantial support, but failed. After further discussion, the original $1.23 million appropriation, which represents a 4.5 percent increase over the 2016 total, passed.
Peter Boyd, of East Thetford, argued the Selectboard ought to have decoupled the police hire from the town’s other budgeted expenditures. “They would do well to make it a separate warned article that could be voted on on its own merits,” he said in an interview.
In addition to peppering Evans and the Selectboard with questions about the police department budget, voters raised concerns about the cost of the Lake Fairlee Dam reconstruction, which was completed by Hebert Excavation in the fall.
Tri-Town Commission member James Dixon acknowledged the project had not gone as smoothly as he had hoped, attributing its cost overrun to an unanticipated increase in the volume of dental concrete required.
After resuming discussion post-lunch, several voters criticized the town’s management of water-runoff issues near their homes on Sanborn Road.
One resident cited faulty culverts and persistent standing water as problems in need of solving, while another discouraged a “one size fits all” approach to road management.
Selectboard member Bill Huff, who is running for re-election against write-in candidate Li Shen, vowed to work with residents to remediate water-runoff issues.
Despite pockets of dissension, voters ultimately passed all articles on the Town Meeting warning, including the proposed Department of Public Works budget, which, with $904,532 drawn from tax revenue, represents an 11.8 percent year-over-year cost increase for homeowners.
Before approving Article 10, an appropriation for Thetford’s community nurse, voters passed an amendment to increase the allocation from $3,500 to $8,000.
“This pittance this group is asking for is saving us a lot of money,” said Carolyn Enz Hack, noting the availability of the nurse may be able to forestall some emergency-room visits.
At the school portion of the meeting Saturday afternoon, discussion included the budget and the repercussion’s of Vermont’s Act 46 school consolidation law
On Tuesday, residents will vote on the town school district’s fiscal year 2018 budget and a proposed $50,000 addition to its capital improvement fund, as well as for town and school officers.
Polls that day will be open from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Thetford Town Hall.
Gabe Brison-Trezise can be reached at g.brisontrezise@gmail.com.