JAY – Selectmen voted unanimously to fill two vacant positions Monday night in the Police Department and Recycling and Transfer Station Departments.

Police Chief Larry White Sr. told selectmen he has tried to work without a seventh full-time officer since Sgt. Charles Keene retired, but the members of the force are getting tired and the town is not saving money with overtime costs.

The department has been down a second officer since Troy Young was injured in an accident Wednesday on Woodman Hill Road when he lost control of the cruiser as he was responding to an accident on Crash Road.

Young was trapped in the cruiser for 2 hours and injured his legs. One was broken, and he was operated on Monday, White said.

He is expected to be out at least three months, White said, with reserves filling in for him until his return.

“We’re really working a lot of overtime,” he said. “We can only do so much in a day. I need people on the street to answer the calls. We’ve got officers really getting tired.”

Young worked all night Tuesday before the accident and was working again Wednesday when the accident happened about 1 p.m.

One of the factors in the accident was driver inattention, White said, rather than speed, as some suggested.

State police have not submitted a formal investigation report , but he said he’ll share it with selectmen when it arrives.

He has hired two more reserves but he cannot rely on fill-ins every day, White said, because many of them do shift work. It also costs to train them, he added.

It was his idea to leave Keene’s position open to see what happened, he said, but it’s not working.

Of residents responding to an opinion poll on town and school services 136 said they didn’t favor leaving the position vacant at a savings of $56,000, while 116 said to leave it vacant.

Residents did favor having Franklin County Sheriff’s Department provide emergency dispatch services,with 147 saying “yes” and 104 saying “no.” The savings is estimated at $154,710.

White plans to attend the Franklin County commissioners meeting today to discuss dispatch services.

Insurance adjusters are still reviewing information on the accident that totaled the 2005 cruiser Young was driving. The cruiser had 39,000 miles on it, and there was about $10,000 in police equipment that is covered, White said.

Transfer Station/Recycling Coordinator Bob Sanders said he is working two men short since they took positions elsewhere. One who took a job with the Highway Department is trying it until April to determine if he wants to stay there or return.

Residents overwhelmingly indicated in an opinion poll they wanted curbside pickup of trash and recyclables to be maintained, with 201 saying “no” to elimination of the service and 47 saying “yes.”

Sanders said he has a temporary part-time worker who applied when the position was advertised and he would like to make that person full-time.

Fully staffed, the department has eight full-time workers, including Sanders.

“Getting by is just about what I’m doing,” Sanders said.

He’s spending three or four days as solid waste attendant and doing other duties, falling behind on his own work, including housekeeping issues, Sanders said.

Even when there are seven full-time workers, Marden said, things are still being left undone. Sanders has been coming in early trying to get needed work done.

Resident Tom Goding suggested the town share positions between departments.

Marden said the union is not in favor of that, although one position is shared between two departments.