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Chief asks board to back bigger sworn force; matter sent to Public Safety committee
Summary
Police Chief Gil Cullen urged the Board of Aldermen to support increasing sworn staffing toward 39 positions to sustain service levels; the board referred recruitment and funding questions to the Public Safety committee for further review.
Rutland City — Police Chief Gil Cullen asked the Board of Aldermen on June 16 to consider increasing the number of funded sworn officer positions to 39 over time to restore staffing and to guide recruitment spending.
The request is important to city residents because sworn staffing levels affect response capacity, overtime budgets and long‑term recruitment strategy.
Cullen reminded the board that the department had historically been funded for about 41 sworn officers but that separations and hiring cycles had left the force smaller in recent years. The city’s budget previously funded 32 positions, and over the past several years that authorization was increased incrementally; the chief said the department has moved from 32 to 33 budgeted positions and that a sixth new hire was starting Monday and would bring the roster to 33 filled positions.
“We’ve had some real success because of the contract that we were able to negotiate,” Cullen said, referring to recent hiring of certified officers. He told aldermen the department wants to exploit the current contract’s strength by focusing recruitment and asked the board for a clear sense of how many positions it supports so recruitment resources can be targeted appropriately: “We need to know, in terms of what we’re going to spend in recruitment…so we know how to plan,” he said.
Board members discussed staffing history and fiscal constraints. After discussion, Councilor Alderman moved to refer the staffing and funding discussion to the Public Safety committee so the body can consider recruitment priorities and budget options. The motion passed and the matter will return to the board after committee review.
The chief and aldermen said recruitment will continue while the committee evaluates the budget impact and the number of positions to fund. The department reported hiring six sworn officers this year and recruiting several transfers; the chief framed reaching 39 sworn positions as a realistic target to maintain service while recognizing the city’s fiscal limits.
The board did not adopt a final funded‑positions number at the meeting; it instead asked the Public Safety committee to review recruitment plans and funding scenarios and to report back to the full board.
