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BELLOWS FALLS â Municipal Manager Scott Pickup said the Bellows Falls village police department is having such a hard time attracting new recruits, it may be time to consider a financial signing bonus as an incentive.
Pickup said told the Village Board of Trustees during a Tuesday night meeting held in person and online that other area police departments are offering signing bonuses in both Vermont and New Hampshire, and that the village may need to consider that as one strategy to fill the persistent vacancies in the department.
The department currently is operating with six full-time officers, plus Chief David Bemis, along with âa hostâ of several part-time officers, Pickup said. There are currently two vacancies, and Pickup said he was apprehensive that the department was about to lose another officer â to a department with a signing bonus.