Brattleboro Police Department Budget

Tuesday’s Select Board meeting and an article in today’s Brattleboro Reformer brought to the surface a major issue with crime, especially in the downtown area. Various Select Board members chimed in both in the meeting and in the press. It rather hurt to see a friend of mine with his picture on the front page this morning given the circumstances.

Tim Wessel is quoted in the Reformer as saying:
“I live downtown and I have to say there’s an increase in the feeling of lawlessness occurring,” he said at Tuesday’s board meeting. “Whether it’s flower pots being overturned, business windows being smashed, unlocked cars being rifled through, or loud cars speeding recklessly through family neighborhoods, a lot of folks have been reaching out to me to say that it feels a little more like the Wild West in Brattleboro, and I agree.”

But, little known to many, actually including some Select Board members, Chief Hardy was a victim of the rapid shift away from Rescue Inc as well and she had no part in that decision that I am aware of.