PUTNEY — Putney voters decided via voice vote at their annual town meeting on March 5 to allow the town's Selectboard to make a final decision on whether Putney and neighboring Westminster should share a 70-hour per week contract with the Windham County Sheriff's Department.
Westminster voters had already decided at their own March 2 town meeting to approve a budget for a shared Windham County sheriff contract. Putney Selectboard Chair Josh Laughlin, however, said that Westminster voters had acted prematurely in their decision.
“In my opinion it was a mistake that it was put on the Westminster article as being shared with Putney, because Putney had not agreed to a shared contract prior to that,” he said.
At the meeting, Windham County Sheriff Keith Clark explained the differences between the two contracting options and answered the many budgetary questions Putney residents voiced for more than an hour.
The first option, he explained, was for the town to keep its current full-time contract with the Windham County sheriff, who currently assigns Deputy First Class Melissa Martin to duty in the town.
For the past four years, Putney has paid for its contract using a federal grant, which expires in September. The proposed $40,000 listed in the town meeting article was to be added to a current $20,000 fund to pay for the remaining 10 months of fiscal year 2014 not covered by the grant.
In total, the town would pay around $70,000 for a full-year contract.
The other option was to share a contract for 70 hours a week between Putney and Westminster. This would allow more fluidity, as the same sheriff could respond to calls from both towns. Costs and hours spent in each town would “be split down the middle,” Clark said.
Putney residents were divided on the issue.
“It's great that we have the opportunity to possibly share sheriff services with Westminster, but I think it's in our best interest to keep it a Putney-only position,” Kathleen Lawrence said. “Westminster is roughly 50 square miles, Putney is 30. If [Martin] got a call right now it could take as long as 35 minutes to drive from Westminster. Also [Martin] is part of Putney, she's been doing a great job, and I think we should keep it as just a Putney position.”
Lawrence continued to explain that there are roughly 1,400 households in Westminster, compared to 950 in Putney, which could result in a large volume of calls coming in simultaneously. Martin received more than 300 calls in the past year from Putney alone, although the number of calls the sheriff in Westminster received was less.
Other residents, such as Eva Mondon, felt similarly to Lawrence. “We have a crowded school and need a full time sheriff in Putney,” she said. “We have three private schools here, we need full time coverage. Let's not be naive about this sharing business: response time is very important.”
Questions were also raised regarding the differences in financial benefits the town would receive from tickets issued by the sheriff should they share a contract with Westminster.
“The amount that goes back to the towns is set by the state,” Clark responded. “We report to the town what tickets we've written and what the initial fine was. Once the ticket is written, we don't control them.”
Approximately one-fifth of the initial fine printed on the ticket is deducted for various fees, leaving the town with the remaining profits.
Following additional discussion on the financial aspects of the decision, a straw poll to determine whether Putney should join Westminster in a shared sheriff contract found it should be passed. However, residents opted instead to amend the article to give the Selectboard a final decision in the matter.