Published in the Tuesday, January 10, 2012 Edition Of The St. Albans Messenger
Fairfax picks sheriff over SAPD coverage
Town signs three-year pact
By MICHELLE MONROE
Messenger Staff Writer
FAIRFAX - Last week the Fairfax Selectboard voted to expand law enforcement services in the community from 40 hours per week to 56.
The town contracts with the Franklin County Sheriff's Office, and after reviewing bids from the sheriff's office and the St. Albans Police Dept. (SAPD) opted to continue with the sheriff's services.
Selectman Chris Santee described having to choose between the two agencies as "one of the good problems to have."
"We have two excellent law enforcement agencies that we got to choose between," he explained.
Both agencies submitted bids for 40 and 56 hours of patrol time per week. The sheriff's bid was for $84,150 annually for 40 hours and $110,400 for 56 hours.
The SAPD bid $82,000 for 40 hours per week of patrol and $103,000 for 56 hours per week.
Santee said the board decided to contract again with the sheriff's office because the sheriff has been providing services to Fairfax for several years, has developed relationships within the community and has experience in the town.
Santee supported rehiring the sheriff's office, but opposed expanding coverage to 56 hours per week, he said.
The cost of law enforcement services will be included in the town budget.
In selecting the sheriff, the board also agreed to a three-year contract that will include annual increases of 1.5 percent, resulting a year two cost of $112,000 and a year three cost of $113,700.
In his proposal to the selectboard, Franklin County Sheriff Robert Norris suggested a three-year contract would help provide job security for patrol deputies.
The town budgeted $95,000 for police services in the current fiscal year and spent roughly $81,000 on police services the year
before.