The selectboard members in Weathersfield have voted unanimously to cancel the town’s patrol contract with the Windsor County Sheriff’s Department, and the community is looking to join with Reading and Cavendish to form a regional police force.
The possible creation of the Mount Ascutney Regional Police Department will be discussed during a joint meeting of officials from the three municipalities on Thursday, Feb. 26, at the Town Hall on U.S. 5 in Ascutney.
The meeting is planned for 6:30 p.m. and will be on Zoom to encourage public involvement across the three towns.
The regional proposal comes in the wake of the arrest of Windsor County Sheriff Ryan Palmer on seven criminal charges, including sexual misconduct. The Vermont State Police criminal investigation began with questions about finances within the sheriff’s department, but soon spread to other issues.
Palmer has agreed to step back and leave the department in the hands of former longtime Chief Deputy Sheriff Claude Weyant. Weyant has said the department is still continuing to do its work, including patrol contracts, court security, prisoner transports, and serving legal papers.
But some towns are looking for a new alternative.
Weathersfield Town Manager Brandon W. Gulnick told the Vermont Standard on Tuesday he has been in discussion with Cavendish Town Manager Richard Chambers and Reading Selectboard chair Bob Allen about their law enforcement concerns.
Weathersfield, which for many years had its own municipal police department, signed a five-year patrol contract with the sheriff’s department starting June 1, 2025. It called for 100 hours of patrols per week, but there was a provision for up to about 20 more hours a week for emergency calls.
Cavendish has an agreement with the sheriff’s department for 8 hours a week for fiscal year 2026, according to Town Manager Rick Chambers. The cost is $75 an hour. The idea is to bump that to 16 hours a week in the next fiscal year, he said.
Reading has an agreement for about 12 hours a week, Gulnick said.
For more on this, please see our Feb. 19 edition of the Vermont Standard.
