BETHEL – Before finalizing work on the proposed 2005 municipal budget, selectmen met for 25 minutes Monday night to approve a pay raise for police.

That was all they needed to OK the proposed $173,925 police wage budget.

Later, during a joint discussion with the Budget Committee, selectmen reaffirmed that earlier vote, recommending that voters attending the June 9 town meeting approve it.

A motion for the Budget Committee to follow suit failed, following an attempt to reduce the overall police budget’s bottom line. That means the committee would not be recommending the article.

One of the main stumbling blocks, which also came up before selectmen in the earlier meeting, was the proposal to pay local cops time and a half to work Sundays, even if they had not yet worked 40 hours.

That, selectmen said, was one perk given to the town’s only full-time officer to keep him from taking Rumford up on a job offer.

Town Manager Scott Cole said the Sunday perk of paying $19.95 per hour was a concession that would occur at some point during a 12-month period.

But, he added, the police chief would use regular patrol labor minimally on Sundays.

Selectman Don Bennett said the move was necessary to rebuild the local police force, which voters at a special town meeting last year overwhelmingly favored keeping.

“Somewhere here, we ultimately have to make the decision to rebuild this police force, and it was one thing we wanted to do, having seen this one officer in question be a leader in some respects about town,” Bennett said.

The town’s only full-time officer is patrolman Charles Beale, who was hired last year.

“If we have to do something a little extraordinary to keep him, I’m willing to pay the price and hopefully keep someone and keep our second-in-command structure in place,” he added.

Selectman Reggie Brown said that although the police wage increase “came at a bad time when the whole budget was out of sight,” he believed it is necessary.

“If you’re not going to pay a decent wage, you’re not going to retain them,” he said.

With the proposal, the full-time officer wage rate would increase by $800 ($13 per hour with certification) over the 2004 rate, and the reserve officer rate would increase by $7,844 over the 2004 budget wage ($11 per hour).

A corporal or sergeant’s rate would increase by $4,335 ($15 per hour with certification) over the 2004 budgeted wage rate.

The proposed budget would mandate police coverage 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Bennett said it would also give Bethel “a police force you can depend on, and that’s why I’m backing this.”

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