Sharon
The Sharon Selectboard last month ended a long-running contract with neighboring Royalton for police services after raising concerns about rising fees and the status of Royalton’s department following the resignation of Chief James Beraldi.
Selectboard Chairwoman Mary Gavin expressed concern about “steadily increasing, and somewhat excessive, rate hikes charged by Royalton over the past few years,” according to the May 15 meeting minutes.
“The town of Royalton is mulling over the future of its police department, and the Windsor County Sheriff would provide satisfactory police coverage for a year,” the minutes go on to say. It is undetermined whether Sharon will contract with Royalton in 2018.
Messages left for Gavin and Vice Chairman Luke Pettengill this week weren’t returned.
Royalton Selectboard Vice Chairwoman Peggy Ainsworth this week said the town was looking to charge Sharon $60 per hour for police services. The contract that expires on Friday is for $50 an hour.
“If they wanted to go with us, we would have done that, but they weren’t interested in our price and we weren’t going to go any lower,” Ainsworth said, adding that the Royalton Selectboard was neutral on Sharon’s decision. “If in the future they would like to come back in with us and if we feel we want to do that, we will go along.”
The Royalton Selectboard hasn’t decided whether it will hire another chief or proceed on without one, Ainsworth said. The board plans to hire a second full-time officer, though, bringing the department up to two full-time and one part-time employees.
Windsor County Sheriff Michael Chamberlain said he was pleased to be working again with Sharon officials.
“We are excited they chose to have us come back,” Chamberlain said.
Under the contract, which was finalized on June 19, a Windsor County sheriff’s deputy will patrol in Sharon four days a week for four-hour time periods at a rate of $54 per hour. The deputy will do different types of work, including general patrol, speed enforcement and responding to calls for service.
If Sharon residents need assistance outside of the contracted time periods, which will change from week to week, state police will be called in.
The Windsor County Sheriff’s Department also has contracts with Plymouth, Barnard, Bridgewater, Cavendish, Reading and Pomfret until Friday. The cost of each contract varies based on time spent in each town and whether mileage is encompassed in the per-hour rate, like it is in Sharon, Chamberlain said.
John Breault, Royalton’s senior officer, issued a news release on Monday announcing that Royalton will no longer respond to calls in Sharon.
Reached via telephone on Tuesday, Breault said the two-member police department is “disappointed” with the contract change.
“We enjoy working with the Sharon community,” Breault said. “I hope that someday we will be back working in Sharon.”
Jordan Cuddemi can be reached at jcuddemi@vnews.com or 603-727-3248.