Bethel voters at the June 10 annual town meeting rejected the proposed budget for law enforcement services, which are currently provided by the Oxford County Sheriff’s Office. The vote was 88-42.

The current one-year contract with the Sheriff’s Office will expire June 30, Town Manager Sharon Jackson said in an interview June 12, and it is uncertain whether a new contract will be negotiated.

If there is no contract, the town, like others in the county with no police department, will still be served by the Sheriff’s Office.

The $695,950 proposed for the coming fiscal year is $22,085 more than the current Sheriff’s Office contract of $673,865 for the same 24-7 coverage by four dedicated deputies, Jackson said.

In 2023, voters approved the service at a cost of $431,404.

Select Board member Faye Christoforo said several issues remained unresolved in negotiations with the sheriff’s department, including the addition of countywide substations to Bethel’s bill.

“There are issues with the contract, there are issues with the budgeting … if we vote this through we lose any future conversation that we can have about what we want our community safety to look like that isn’t just taking $700,000, $800,000 more. It just keeps going up, out of our pockets.”

Christoforo said board members do not consider the vote the end of the conversation.

Select Board member Andy Whitney agreed, saying funding for the sheriff’s department should occur at the county level rather than at the expense of Bethel taxpayers.

Whitney said the board had encountered roadblocks in negotiations, including requests for statistics, information on deputies’ responses to calls in other towns, and a request for a six-month budget process.

“There is no negotiating with Oxford County; as long as we keep paying them we will not have any negotiating power,” Whitney said.

Sheriff Christopher Wainwright responded to questions from residents. Asked whether surrounding towns benefit from Bethel’s coverage, he said, “yes, the (surrounding) towns do get a benefit from you.”

Several residents spoke about what would likely be longer response times without the coverage. Others questioned why neighboring towns benefit when deputies assigned to Bethel leave town to respond to incidents elsewhere.

“We are subsidizing these neighboring towns,” resident Ron Savage said.

Jackson said regionalization for police service with surrounding towns is expected to be discussed at the next quarterly meeting with town managers and Select Board members in Bethel, Woodstock, Newry and Greenwood.