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Public Post is a community reporting initiative using digital tools to report on cities and towns across Vermont.Public Post is the only resource that lets you browse and search documents across dozens of Vermont municipal websites in one place.Follow reporter Amy Kolb Noyes and #PublicPost on Twitter and read news from the Post below.

After Vote To Disband Village Government, Waterbury Weighs Law Enforcement Options

Joby Feccia will be the last Waterbury village police chief. Villagers have voted to disband the village government, which includes eliminating the police department.
Amy Kolb Noyes
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VPR
Joby Feccia will be the last Waterbury village police chief. Villagers have voted to disband the village government, which includes eliminating the police department.

Last month the Village of Waterbury voted overwhelmingly in favor of a charter amendment that would effectively eliminate the village government and turn authority over to the town. The biggest change will be the elimination of the village police department, which is the only police department in town.

Waterbury Police Chief Joby Feccia has a lot on his mind these days. He’s running the village police department on a skeleton staff of two full time officers, including himself. He’s planning for the imminent closure of the department – likely by the end of the year. And he’s trying to plan out the next stage of his personal career.

"As long as we’re here, we’re going to continue to do the best job we can," he says. "It sounds like December 31 is probably our end date, but we just don’t know. I’d like to find out – I’d like to find that out as soon as possible so we can do some serious planning."

Feccia has been with the department since 1995, and he’s been chief for the past nine years. He was planning on staying until he retired. But now he’s looking for a new job, applying to graduate school, and considering entirely new career options. But still, he’s concerned about Waterbury.
 
"This is a wonderful community," says Feccia. "It’s growing. I hope that the town decides that they need a police department … I hope they fund it. I hope they have a good set of officers. I love Waterbury and I wish this community and its people well. I’m going to miss it."

Waterbury Police Chief Joby Feccia is looking for buyers for everything from his department's cruisers, to tire puncturing spike strips, to fingerprinting kits.
Credit Amy Kolb Noyes / VPR
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VPR
Waterbury Police Chief Joby Feccia is looking for buyers for everything from his department's cruisers, to tire puncturing spike strips, to fingerprinting kits.

Currently the town has no plans to set up its own police department. The rest of Waterbury, outside the village, relies on the state police for its law enforcement.

Bill Shepeluk is the municipal manager for both the town and village of Waterbury. He says, over the years, town voters have repeatedly rejected the idea of taking over the village police.

"The town has been pretty clear they don’t want the village’s police department," says Shepeluk. "They haven’t wanted their own police department because the village is already doing it and the area of the town that really needs policing is in the village, of course. So they’ve felt very good about not providing any of the funding. I think the village has the opposite sentiment."

But last month’s Village vote has forced the town to reconsider its options.

"And the village has finally just said, 'enough is enough, we’re just not going to do it anymore,'" says Shepeluk. "And now the select board is reacting to that saying, 'boy, you know, what will the future of public safety be like in the community?'"

Waterbury Town and Village Manager Bill Shepeluk says the village government will cease to exist June 30, 2018, providing the legislature approves the charter amendment passed by village voters last month.
Credit Amy Kolb Noyes / VPR
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VPR
Waterbury Town and Village Manager Bill Shepeluk says the village government will cease to exist June 30, 2018, providing the legislature approves the charter amendment passed by village voters last month.

Tropical Storm Irene was a turning point for Waterbury, and for the village police department. About a third of the village's properties were affected by the flood. The police department was forced to relocate.

With so many flood damaged properties, paying for police became more of a burden than some village taxpayers could bear.

And the village faced a double whammy. On top of the cost of rebuilding, Shepeluk says the loss of the state office complex resulted in fewer customers for local businesses.

"When you have 1,500 state employees in your downtown every day and then they’re here on Friday and they’re gone on Monday, they’re gone for five years. That wreaks havoc with the businesses," he says.

This note was posted at the entrance to the Waterbury State Office Complex after it was forced to close from flooding due to Tropical Storm Irene. It took five years to bring a significant portion of the state employees back to Waterbury.
Credit Toby Talbot / AP File
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AP File
This note was posted at the entrance to the Waterbury State Office Complex after it was forced to close from flooding due to Tropical Storm Irene. It took five years to bring a significant portion of the state employees back to Waterbury.

To help ease the budget, the police department cut back on officers. With less coverage, tax payers weren’t as satisfied with law enforcement services. It was a downward spiral that ended with the village essentially voting itself – and its police department – out of existence.

Now it’s up to the town to decide what level of law enforcement it wants to support.  Shepeluk says the first step will be to determine the need, and then come up with a solution the taxpayers are willing to fund. And he says chances are the answer will be something short of a town police force.

"My expectation is the town won’t create its own police department, at least not right away," he says. "I think they’ll take some incremental steps – maybe contract with other agencies somehow. But we’ll see. It’s to be determined."

The Waterbury select board will be discussing the issue on Monday, July 31. Shepeluk says he expects the board will establish a citizen's committee to study the options.
 

 

Amy is an award winning journalist who has worked in print and radio in Vermont since 1991. Her first job in professional radio was at WVMX in Stowe, where she worked as News Director and co-host of The Morning Show. She was a VPR contributor from 2006 to 2020.
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