The residents of Bellows Falls have one of the highest tax rates in the state, and over the last year the police department has faced both deep cuts, as well as total elimination.
The cost for running the department this year will likely approach $1 million and Windham County Sheriff Keith Clark has offered to take over law enforcement in the village for $650,000.
Clark is the former chief of the Bellows Falls Police Department and left after he was elected Windham County Sheriff in November 2006.
BFPD chief Ron Lake said Friday that he has put time into next year's proposed budget, and while he refused to reveal his estimates before Tuesday's meeting, Lake promised to offer a 2009 budget that will come in under this year's projected $1 million.
On Tuesday, both Lake and Clark will make their pitches to the people of Bellows Falls.
Lake was at the Bellows Falls Waypoint Center Friday for what he said was one of a series of public meetings he is hosting to get back in touch with the people of the village.
According to Lake, the department is suffering from more than just a high price tag.
Lake said for too long the police in Bellows Falls have been reactive and not proactive.
He said there has not been enough foot traffic throughout the village, and while he admits that it is never going to be cheap to keep a full time police department alive, there is more he and his officers can do to connect with the residents.
"We have to be out there walking the streets. I want this department to be community oriented," Lake said while village officials and residents milled about the Waypoint Center.
Lake was hired as a part-time officer in Bellows Falls in June and he was hired as the new chief last month.
He said Tuesday's meeting, and the coming months, will be pivotal for future of the department and the village.
And while he knows he will not be able to patrol Bellows Falls for the $650,000 that Clark has promised, Lake said he and his officers offer a level of knowledge and understanding that can not be duplicated by an outside force.
"I've got people that know the village, that know these families," said Lake. "This is not information you can get from a computer. This is only information you can get from experience."
The trustees have been grappling with the burden of keeping the expensive department afloat for a few years now.
Two years ago, village residents voted down the budget at the annual meeting. Then, last year, the trustees slashed the budget, forcing less-than-24-hour service from the police. The residents voted the money back in from the floor to bring police service back up to full time.
At least one trustee said Friday that it was time to make a decision and stick to it.
Stefan Golec said the trustees should look at both choices and write whatever option they believe is best for the village into next year's budget. Then the residents can either approve or reject that budget based on the police line item.
Golec said it is going to be hard because any cuts to the budget translate to people losing their jobs.
"I'm sure the employees will weigh heavily on our decision, and we have to take that into account," said Golec. "But we would not be fiscally responsible if we did not think about both options."
Golec said he has looked at Lake's preliminary numbers and they are still higher than Clark's proposal.
"It still looks like a million dollar budget to me," he said.
Golec is running for Rockingham selectboard in March and he said he has been walking the village to gather signatures and talk to the voters.
People are having a hard time paying their taxes, he said, and while on some level it might make sense to have a police force, at the end of the day if it cost too much the trustees might have to decide that it is time to close down the BFPD.
"I don't want anyone to lose their jobs. I want to hear what the employees say, but I want to hear what the village residents say too," Golec said. "If they want to save money this might the best proposal they have had in years."
Howard Weiss-Tisman can be reached at hwtisman@reformer.com or 802-254-2311, ext. 279