Police Issues
Are Explained

One of the most significant issues that this Selectboard is likely to handle in the coming months is the issue of our police. I am sorry that The Herald chose to emphasize a brief exchange of words at the end of a long and tiring Selectboard meeting (which started at 5 p.m. and ended near 10 p.m.) rather than the substance of the issue. I don’t like being quoted out of context but more importantly, I believe the question of public safety is very important and the town should be fully informed.

We currently have a police force that is supposed to cover the village of Randolph only. I do not know why that decision was made, but I assume it was based on the belief that a local police force were important primarily to protect the commercial district. That decision was taken before the tragedy of September 11 heightened awareness of the need for public preparedness, before the tragedy of Columbine sensitized everyone to the need for more protection in our schools, before the tragedy of drugs in our state (and in our town) brought to everyone’s attention the need for greater vigilance on our streets and schools. These are not village-only issues anymore.

Public safety concerns are not the only ones driving the Selectboard review. Complaints by taxpayers residing in the village that the police are active outside the village have also influenced us.

When we asked what required the police to work outside the village, the Police Chief explained there were various reasons: recent cutbacks on State Police budgets resulted in more work shifting to the local police; the courts have asked Randolph police to follow up on cases on occasion beyond the confines of the Village; WRVA gave the Randolph police a defibrillator which now enables them to be the closest available emergency responders, even to areas outside the village limits; and, there are other reasons which we are only beginning to understand.

Cost of the police force is also a concern. If taxpayers in the village are upset that their tax rate is excessively high, they are correct. Only two other towns in Vermont are paying at a higher rate. Taxpayers in the rest of the town are closer to the median tax rate.

Is it fairer to ask the Village taxpayers to pay for a police force used by the whole town? For example, if the high school needs a full time police officer should that be financed by village taxpayers only?

We need to find out what kind of a public safety program, based on the past year or so of police experiences, is actually needed in this town. Then we need to decide who should, in all fairness, bear the burden of that program. We are lucky to have the police force we do and I would hope they understand that the Selectboard review of the police is aimed at assisting them in their efforts to assure we continue to live in a safe and well secured place.

Phyllis Forbes

Selectboard member

Randolph