FARMINGTON – The Board of Selectmen approved hiring a full-time police officer Tuesday night by a 3-2 vote.

The officer will fill the patrolman’s position held by Chris Chase, who resigned.

One officer in the eight-member department is currently attending the criminal justice academy and another is scheduled to attend in January. There is also one patrolmen out with an injury and is not expected back for three months, Chief Richard Caton III said.

Caton said he is concerned about more speeders on the new “super highway” of Fairbanks Road on the north end of town. It is already challenging for the department to “keep a handle” on traffic violators on Wilton Road, he said.

But Selectmen Mary Wright and Charles Murray had budgetary concerns.

Murray said he would like to “see us try to do without,” saying that though the position is already budgeted for this year, it would lock the town into keeping it for the next fiscal year.

“I understand the needs of the department,” Murray said, “but we also need to consider our taxpayers who are low-income and live in an area with high unemployment. It’s incumbent on us to do whatever we can to keep expenses down,” he said.

Selectmen considered several options, including doing away with the nighttime foot patrol downtown.

Caton said that incidents of vandalism and burglary would likely increase if no one was patrolling downtown at night.

Selectman Dennis Pike, the county sheriff, recalled a time when the town did eliminate the “foot beat” and said that it was short-lived because problems were magnified. He said he thinks officials would be remiss if they did not consider the town’s history.

Pike, Stephan Bunker and Mark Cayer voted for filling the position, Murray and Wright voted against it. Murray said she reluctantly voted against it, but admitted she felt safer having the eighth officer.