BETHEL – Town Manager Scott Cole said the town and Oxford County Sheriff Skip Herrick have agreed on a proposed $275,344 cost for police services, which residents will decide in a June 9 referendum.

Herrick had put the cost at $297,769 for county coverage, which was $42,425 more than what the Bethel Police Department spends for service.

At last Monday night’s meeting, Board of Selectmen Chairman Harry Dresser Jr. said Herrick’s proposal was as large as could be imagined for professional police service. It was too far over the local police budget for Selectman Don Bennett and local businessman Harry Faulkner to consider supporting it.

“I like having local police and local rescue,” Bennett said. “I suspect the county cost is high, although it might be close to a wash on the cost. If (the difference) was a $50,000 savings, I would consider it. If it’s going to be a wash or we’ll save a little bit, I’d rather not talk much further about it.”

Faulkner said he was hard pressed to understand why the board was even considering going with county service over the local department.

“I own a bar and when I need a police officer, I have to have him now or there’s no point in calling him,” Faulkner said.

However, Dresser argued that if the town opts for county coverage, Herrick would hire five new deputies who would be dedicated to the town and stay within Bethel’s boundaries unless an emergency cropped up elsewhere. He further defended the board’s continued efforts toward finding a solution for better law enforcement coverage.

“It’s very clear to everybody who sits around this board that as the economy struggles, there are pressures on taxpayers,” Dresser said. “So it’s incumbent on this group to continually check (options) to get the highest quality we can afford.”

“I watch as (Chief Darren M. Tripp) struggles to keep police officers. Keeping trained, expert people on police departments is a challenge for everyone in the industry.”

Selectman Reggie Brown echoed Dresser’s comments.

“We’re fortunate that Darren’s been here for 10 years, but we only have one other trained officer and we can’t find a fourth one,” he said. “Our third one has zero experience and faces a 100-hour course. Because no one is out there (who is experienced), Darren has to respond 24 hours a day and that’s a big disadvantage to him.”

Tripp, however, has been on paid administrative suspension since March 17 for a non-disciplinary action, said Town Manager Scott Cole. Two full-time patrol officers, Rusty Daley and Danielle Littlehale, six reserve officers and longtime policeman Alan J. Carr, officer-in-charge, have been running the police department’s day-to-day operations.

tkarkos@sunjournal.com

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