Selectmen mull police referendum ? for May ballot

State Police Troop A Commander Lt. William G. Ross ... 'rural patrol model' no longer works' (Courtesy/You Tube video image)

Editor's note: Selectmen Chair Chip Harlow (at the 39 minute mark of this video) says it is important the workshop is on video and good that town residents can see it is safety officials saying it is maybe time for the town to seriously consider having its own police force. A quote attributed to Harlow in the original version of this story was not verbatim. It has been changed to a paraphrase in the newer version. We encourage readers to watch this portion of the video, themselves, to more accurately glean Mr. Harlow's sentiments.

LEBANON - After more than 25 years without a police force, Lebanon selectmen are expected to begin discussing the possibility of placing a referendum question on the May ballot to see if residents want to bring it back.

The possibility surfaced on Wednesday during a selectmen's workshop with State Police and 4X4 Proving Grounds regarding their upcoming Labor Day event set for Sept. 1-3.

State Police Troop A Commander Lt. William G. Ross told selectmen that Lebanon's growth has moved it far from the "rural patrol model" safety officials had envisioned for its coverage.

He said staffing shortages had made it more difficult to provide the coverage the town demands.

When State Police took over sole duty of patrolling Lebanon some five years ago they had two troopers dedicated to the town, but for the last two years it's been down to one.

Both Ross and Sgt. Johnathan Shapiro, who coordinates Lebanon coverage, said they weren't at the workshop to pressure selectmen to implement a police force, but only to let them know public safety issues and police coverage of such in Lebanon are inadequate at best.

"We don't have enough people to keep this town safe with one person patrolling," Ross said.

Shapiro noted that most towns use a model of one officer per 1,000 residents for public safety concerns.

With Lebanon's population of around 8,000, that would translate to about an eight-man force.

"We have serious concerns (for Lebanon public safety)," Shapiro said.

Selectmen Chair Chip Harlow said the board would be discussing the possibility of putting some sort of referendum on the ballot next May with regard to resurrecting a local police force.

Harlow added that it was important the workshop was on video and good that town residents could see it was safety officials saying it was maybe time for the town to "seriously consider" having its own police force.

Another option would be for the town to reach out to the York County Sheriff's Office to hire a contract deputy to be dedicated to patrolling the town. In that event, State Police would withdraw their coverage, Ross noted.