Windham County Sheriff's Department
~ Breaking News ~

By HOWARD, WEISS-TISMAN Reformer Staff
Brattleboro Reformer

An earlier proposal by the Windham County Sheriff's Department to provide law enforcement in the village appears to be off the table for the moment.

The Trustees need to have their budget finalized by the first few weeks in April, and at a special budget meeting Tuesday they decided to commit to funding the Bellows Falls Police Department for at least another year.

But talk of cutting the whole department was kept alive by at least one board member.

Village Trustee Gary DeRosia, who himself worked for the police department for 20 years and was the chief for eight, said the Village residents are paying for the service that is enjoyed by every resident of Rockingham.

DeRosia said there is nothing in the Village Charter that requires the residents of Bellows Falls to pay for law enforcement.

The town of Rockingham, by law, is responsible for providing police protection throughout town, DeRosia said. As long as the Village keeps paying the bills, it is going to prevent the town of Rockingham from assuming that responsibility.

"It is an alternative and it needs discussion," DeRosia said about the option of zeroing out the police department from the Village budget. "I would hate to see the Bellows Falls Police Department go away, but if that's what it takes to get town service, then we need to talk about it."

About 20 residents came out to the meeting, and a large percentage of the crowd was made up of fire and police personnel and their supporters.

As the budget stands today, the tax rate in the village would go down about 2 cents, but the Trustees did not accept a final budget and another budget meeting was scheduled in the coming weeks.

Municipal Manager John Schempf told the Trustees that almost 80 percent of the approximately $1.5 million Village budget pays for personnel.

He said it would be very hard to slice any more money out of the budget without letting an employee go.

"You could go from 75 percent down to 50 percent but I wouldn't recommend it," Schempf said about saving any more money by reducing the police department. "To make any more cuts requires getting rid of personnel."

Schempf also said the Village would not be covered by full-time fire service if any money was taken out of the Fire Department's budget.

The Trustees did not talk about the Fire Department much, but it appeared as though they were going to fully fund the Fire Department through next year.

The budget will be debated at the annual meeting, which is scheduled for Monday, May 14, at 7:30 p.m.