Voters in Jay and Wilton soundly rejected combining their police forces in nonbinding referendums Tuesday.
Residents in both towns chose among four options developed by a two‑town committee that began its work about a year ago, and most voters opted against making a change, choosing to keep their existing police departments.
Jay voters cast 937 ballots, and Wilton voters cast 882, with majorities in each town selecting the option to leave their departments as they are.
David Leavitt, chair of the Wilton Board of Selectpersons and a member of the Wilton-Jay Police Collaboration Committee, said Wednesday morning, “The police issue will be a dead issue with both towns voting to do nothing.”
Shiloh LaFreniere, Jay town manager, said on Wednesday, “I’ll be including this as an agenda item on the board’s next meeting,” which is June 22.
In Jay, 579 voters preferred leaving the Police Department as it is. That was nearly 62 percent of the 937 votes cast. Of the remaining 358 votes, 130 (14 percent) supported one town contracting with the other, 115 (12 percent) backed creating a quasi‑municipal police department governed by both towns and 113 (12 percent) favored contracting with the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office for police services in both towns.
In Wilton, 514 voters preferred leaving the Police Department as it is. That was 58 percent. Of the remaining 368 votes, 156 (18 percent) supported setting up a quasi‑municipal police department, 118 (13 percent) favored contracting with the Sheriff’s Office and 94 (11 percent) supported one town contracting with the other.
Combining the two‑town vote, 1,819 residents expressed an opinion. The no‑change option received 1,093 votes (60 percent); creating a two‑town department received 271 votes (15 percent); contracting with the Sheriff’s Office received 231 votes (13 percent); and one town serving both received 224 votes (12 percent).
As votes were being counted, it was not yet clear whether either town will continue to pursue police collaboration or whether town officials would need to take action to officially end the process. The Wilton‑Jay Police Collaboration Committee, the Wilton Board of Selectpersons and the Jay Select Board called the referendums for guidance as to whether to proceed, and, if so, which path to choose.
Here is the question as it appeared on the referendum ballot in Jay:
“Which of the following police collaboration options should the Select Board explore further: (This is a non-binding advisory question. Choose one.)”
- a. Take no action, maintain existing individual Town of Jay Police Department.
Explanation: “This option means that you want the Select Board to maintain the Jay Police Department and not explore any of the three options listed below.” - b. Contract police services to the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office.
Explanation: “This option means that you want the Select Board to explore a contract with the Franklin County Sheriff to provide police coverage for the Town of Jay.” - c. Contract to one town.
Explanation: “This option means that you want the Select Board to explore a contract with the Town of Wilton: either Jay contracting with Wilton to provide police coverage or Wilton contracting with Jay to provide police coverage.” - d. Create a Quasi-Municipal Corporation.
Explanation: “This option means that you want the Select Board to explore creating a quasi-municipal corporation that is a separate entity from the Towns of Jay and Wilton which would have its own governing board made up of representatives from each town.”
Wilton voters saw the same four options in the same order as Jay, but with different wording.
A straw poll at an April 1 public meeting in Wilton produced a sharply different result from Tuesday’s referendum. In that poll, a majority favored creating a quasi‑municipal corporation. Seventeen residents supported forming a joint department, four backed having one town contract with the other, and one supported contracting with the Sheriff’s Office.
In February, the Jay Select Board had voted to merge the town’s Police Department with Wilton’s, combining two of the four collaboration options recommended by a study committee and signaling that the merger was its preferred option.
The committee studying police collaboration was formed about a year ago, partly because both towns were losing officers to larger departments and repeatedly training replacements at high cost and with reduced patrol time.
Officials in both towns also supported studying consolidation as a way to reduce costs through economies of scale. Similar savings have been reported in other states, including Pennsylvania, where 141 departments consolidated into 43 and cost reductions began to appear after the first few years.
Among New England states, Connecticut has consolidated some police departments, and in Maine, Winthrop and Monmouth are moving toward consolidation. Monmouth voters backed the move 679-535 at their annual town meeting Tuesday, and in Winthrop, the Town Council is expected to decide the issue. Both departments are led by the same chief, Paul Ferland.
The Wilton‑Jay Police Collaboration Committee of 12 includes both town managers (LaFreniere of Jay and Maria Greeley of Wilton); two selectpersons from each town (Lee Ann Dalessandro and Terry Bergeron of Jay; David Leavitt and Keith Swett of Wilton); each town’s police chief (Joseph Sage of Jay and Ethan Kyes of Wilton); and two public members from each town (Lisa Bryant and Jennifer Lynch of Jay; Sarah Caton and Matthew Bickford of Wilton).
On Feb. 23, the Jay Select Board voted to ask Wilton to contract with Jay for police coverage in both towns as a first step toward forming a quasi‑municipal corporation. Wilton did not respond publicly, and the Wilton Board of Selectpersons did not respond officially to Jay’s vote.
This story was updated June 10 with a comment from Shiloh LaFreniere, Jay’s town manager.
