After a lengthy period of exploring the idea of appointing a town constable and another lengthy period of exploring duties and guidelines and finally, negotiating with a potential candidate, Waitsfield is ready to appoint a constable.
Last month, the select board gave final approval to a plan to hire Jeff Campbell, a certified law enforcement officer, to work as needed (anticipated five hours a week) in Waitsfield. Campbell is a constable in Warren, serves as Warren fire chief and is the town emergency management director.
He has served as a constable in Warren since 2011 and has gone through numerous trainings in the ensuing years. He has been a firefighter for 22 years, 17 of them with the Warren Volunteer Fire Department and the last two as fire chief.
As constable, Campbell will respond to situations that include civil or criminal process serving, killing injured deer, helping the town health officer, removing disorderly people from Town Meeting, helping the town tax collector as needed, responding to calls to address citizen inquiries and complaints, respond to emergencies, and many others.
He has and must maintain certification for the use of firearms and other authorized weapons. He will be armed when responding to calls. Additionally, as town constable, Campbell must be able to handle stressful situations in a calm and professional manner and be able to defuse conflict.
Waitsfield town administrator Annie Decker-Dell’Isola said that Campbell’s start date will be determined after Town Meeting and said that specifics about mileage reimbursements for using his own vehicle were still being determined along with his hourly wage.
The budget that Waitsfield voters will be asked to approve at Town Meeting next week includes a smaller budget for the Washington County Sheriff’s
Department
The town contracts with the Washington County Sheriff’s office for traffic patrol. The department let the town know that hourly rates would increase from $37 an hour to $60 an hour. The town has historically budgeted for 13 hours a week and the town is dropping that down to 10 hours a week in the proposed budget.
Campbell lives in Warren with Becky Campbell.
