By John Mauer
When the Board of Selectmen removed the funds for the Resident State Trooper during the budget process, local business largely supported the move. Now some of those business owners, and Town residents, are having second thoughts. A few are circulating a petition to restore the position through a new Town Meeting vote. Audrey Davis, from Davis IGA, said, “I think we need a State Trooper in town.”
Local resident Gwynne Lorenzo has organized the petition. She said, “We were very unhappy with the trooper we had. We needed new blood.” Such a petition needs at least 50 signatures (of registered voters or owners of $1000 of property). When submitted, the petition requires the Selectmen to call the Town Meeting within 21 days to vote on the resolution.
The petition reads in part:
The electors and those qualified to vote in Town Meeting support the immediate restoration of the Resident State Trooper program and request that the Board of Selectmen, the Board of Finance and other appropriate Town officials take the actions necessary to appropriate funds sufficient to finance and support such program for the 2009-2010 fiscal year.
The petition is circulating among supporters and can be found at Davis IGA and the Fife & Drum Restaurant. Lorenzo can be contacted directly. Trooper Dennis Keane, the short-time replacement for long-time Resident State Trooper Keith Asman, was also urging local people to sign the petition at the IGA according to Davis.
Resident Scott Harvey, whose letter during the budget process detailed the need for a Resident State Trooper, indicates that the process of choosing a new Trooper involves a series of interviews with senior personnel in the barracks. Presumably, such interviews will include town officials.
The position of the Resident State Trooper came under fire this spring when several burglaries occurred in Town and the barracks communication with Asman broke down. Local business owners were upset over this lack of notification. Because of this situation, the Selectmen twice held informational meetings with the Asman and Lt. Boyne from Troop L, our state police barracks in Litchfield. This issue expanded from communication to the off-hour coverage desired by local business owners. When trooper union leadership disagreed with such assignments, dissatisfaction with the program grew.
Many people in town supported termination of the overly expensive program. Thus, when the Selectmen were asked to cut $80,000 from their budget by the Board of Finance, they chose to cut the Trooper for $100,000 rather than face the arduous task of cutting line items in the rest of their budget. (It should be noted that Selectman Vince LaFontan opposed this cut.) Curiously, the net result of a successful petition will be not only the reinstatement of that money and the Trooper but also an end run of the Board of Finance. The difficult cuts were not made, and the budget will be restored.