Bellows Falls to decide on police future
BELLOWS FALLS, Vt. --Bellows Falls voters will decide in May whether the village should have its own police department or get law enforcement coverage from the Windham County sheriff's office.
Village Police Chief Ron Lake says he can keep the department for about $900,000 a year.
But former village police chief Keith Clark, who is now the county sheriff, says he staff the department full time for about $650,000 a year.
Village manager Jim Mullen says the final decision will depend in large part with village voters, who will decide the village budget during the village annual meeting in May.
The village has had its own police department for more than a century, but local taxes are high.