By Lauryn Katz | Community News Service
When Randolph voters hit the ballot box on Town Meeting Day, they will be deciding how to fill four spots on the selectboard and whether to boost the police budget to over $770,000 for the following fiscal year, up 121%.
Because the Orange County Sheriff’s Department pulled out of its contract with Randolph over a staffing shortage, town leaders want to resurrect the Randolph Police Department, which disbanded in 2018.
Residents of the Randolph Police District—roughly the downtown area—will vote on authorizing just shy of $499,500 to be raised by taxes for the revamped police force and the remaining $271,900 from non-tax revenue.
Because the Orange County Sheriff’s Department pulled out of its contract with Randolph over a staffing shortage, town leaders want to resurrect the Randolph Police Department, which disbanded in 2018.
Since nearly $500,000 will be raised from inside the police district, property taxes could increase there. But that’s up to the assessor’s office, said Town Clerk and Treasurer Emery Mattheis, and the office likely won’t be releasing next year’s tax bills until the fall. Part of the re-establishment of Randolph’s police department includes hiring new officers and administrators and standing up the technical infrastructure for crime-related databases—acts that are not easy and do not come cheap. The investment could allay the community’s worries about relying on the short-handed sheriff’s department.
Voters will look to fill four positions total on the selectboard on Town Meeting Day. Selectboard members Perry Armstrong and Patrick French will be stepping down from their roles, leaving two openings for the remainder of their terms.
Currently, Stephanie Tyler, who owns Third Branch Pottery Supply, is running unopposed for the two years remaining in French’s three-year term on the selectboard. Having lived in Randolph for the past 13 years, Tyler said she hopes to bring to the board the perspective of a parent with three children in the Randolph school system. And, she said, “having some females on the board is positive” for the community. Ericka Grygowski and Mitchell Harrness are running for the one year remaining on Armstrong’s three-year term.
Another two routine openings will fill out the ballot. Selectboard chair Trini Brassard and Vice Chair Lawrence Satcowitz are both running for re-election unopposed.
The highway, library, water, and wastewater funds and the general fund are also set to see increases. But all those proposed expenditures are going up by less than 10%, a significant difference from the police budget request. The general fund request of $3,686,210 (of which about $1.9 million is to be raised by taxes) is close to $243,180 more than it was last year, about a 7% increase.
Mattheis said those increases were routine adjustments to account for general upkeep such as highway management and zoning work.
Articles 8 through 26 account for special appropriation requests by a number of area organizations, including the Clara Martin Center, Capstone, the food shelf, and many others. They are nearly all the same as they were last year. The only difference is that the Randolph Area Food Shelf has upped its request from $2,500 to $5,000. A public hearing and informational meeting on the town budget and articles is set for Monday, Feb. 27 at 5 p.m. in the town offices. Residents can attend in person or virtually through a link on the town website.
Residents will vote on Town Meeting Day, March 7, at the town offices from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., where they will decide on Articles 1 through 26 by Australian ballot.
Randolph’s town meeting itself will take place the Saturday before Town Meeting Day, on March 4 at 10 a.m. At Chandler Music Hall, voters will tackle Articles 27 and 28 on the warning. The former is to hear reports from town officers and committees.
After that, four vacancies on the town’s budgeting committee are to be filled from votes on the floor. These include a term of three years, a term of two years, the remaining one year of a three-year term, and the remaining one year of a two-year term.
The Community News Service is part of the Reporting and Documentary Storytelling Program at the University of Vermont.
What is sad here is that longtime Sheriff Bill Bohnyak was not re-elected mostly because he had an R after his name on the ballot and his opposition had a D. After the election most all the officers and administrative staff of the Sherriff’s Department resigned leading to this problem in Randolph.
We need to think about why running as a Republican has become so toxic in our State.
What authority do constables have and what training do they need to exercise their authority?
All constables, whether Level II or Level III, first or second constable, appointed or elected, have powers specifically enumerated in 24 V.S.A. § 1936a (b). These include the power to:
serve civil or criminal process (12 V.S.A. § 691)
destroy animals (20 V.S.A. Chapter 193)
kill injured deer (10 V.S.A. § 4749)
assist the health officer in the discharge of his or her duties (18 V.S.A. § 617)
serve as a district court officer (4 V.S.A. § 296)
remove disorderly people from town meeting (17 V.S.A. § 2659)
and collect taxes when no tax collector is elected (24 V.S.A. § 1529).
Any additional authority constables have is determined by the municipality they serve. For instance, municipalities, through their selectboards, may direct their constables to enforce civil ordinances. Selectboards may also direct their constables to enforce criminal ordinances if their constables have law enforcement authority.
This area is fairly safe right now. When criminals find out there is no police protection, who knows what will happen. I believe the money is well spent for the protection of our homes and our children.
Sophisticated criminals are pretty clever, and seem removed from this area right now. But let’s face it, they are coming. Let’s be prepared.